Dark Cloud: Between the Lines
by SpacePirate Khan
Summary: {NEW} Chapter 8! When Xiao gets turned back to a house cat, Toan makes a deal with Dimitri to change her back. Houston, we have a problem. [ToanXiao]
1. Part I in which the Adventure Begins!

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Dark Cloud.  
Heck I don't even own any toys from it.  
Can you even get toys from it?  
Must... have... Xiao!  
Author's Note:  
"This fic might not be so good but at the same time,  
who knows? Please, no flames, especially not complaints  
about the pairing. Hello folks, I'm bringin' out the strangest  
couple yet in this category! Don't judge me for accuracy,  
although I'll try not to write things that you might already  
know or might spoil the plot for those who haven't got there  
yet. And, uh . . . well, let's hope I don't stink. This is another  
Between-the-Lines style fic. ON WITH THE SHOW!!"  
==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part I: in which the adventure begins]  
(]Adventure Day 3[)  
  
Toan walked groggily upstairs to his room,  
cutting a small lamp on as he exchanged goodnights  
with his mom. His mother cut the overhead light out  
as Toan pulled out his journal and began writing.  
  
"Adventure Day 3.  
I found my house amidst the caverns today,  
along with my mother. I've been on this quest  
for three days now, and it's getting to be a  
lonely job. My best friend is still missing; probably  
locked away in that cavern. I saw that little house  
cat again, as well. I wish it would stop running from  
me; I could use some company in the caves..  
Well, that's all I can think to write. Maybe that doughnut  
I found today will cheer me up a bit."  
With that, he closed the book and ate  
a fluffy doughnut before falling asleep.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
(]Adventure Day Five[)  
=Time: Evening=  
=Place: Dran's Cave=  
  
Toan spit out a bit of blood, then turned  
around to look at the cat he'd just saved. (To  
those who haven't made it this far, don't ask,  
just play the game yourselves.) The silver haired  
young man faded away, and the cat smiled at  
Toan before walking off, then being sealed in  
an Atla. Toan blinked, stood up, and walked over to  
the Atla, breaking the seal and transferring the feline  
to his little wrist thing. Then he stepped forward  
to the river and looked at it closely. "I can't jump  
that.." he said to himself, with an annoyed sigh as  
his stomache growled. "Well, I'll think of something  
later I guess." muttered the green clad hero as the  
Fairy King teleported him out of the cavern.  
=Time: Nightfall=  
Toan sighed and fell onto his bed as the  
lights were turned out, and heard a soft mewing  
as the house cat silently strolled up the stairs  
and into his room. "Hey Xiao." Toan said as he  
began scribbling an entry in his journal.  
"Adventure Day 5.  
Well, I met a silver haired moron who tried to take  
away that cool magic thing the Fairy King gave  
me. Fat chance! I was about to whup his butt  
and dodge his slow attack, but I noticed that  
house cat behind me; if I'd moved, she would've  
been blasted. Well, it payed off; I brought the  
feline home with me later, and named her Xiao.  
Cool name, huh? Anyway, I'm irritated now; there's  
a river I can't cross. I'll think of something  
tomorrow. For now, I need rest."  
The boy closed the book, sliding it into his  
pillowcase as the cat hopped up into bed with him,  
falling asleep up against him. Toan didn't bother  
pushing the cat off the bed, and instead fell asleep  
soon afterwards.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
(]Adventure Day 6[)  
=Time: Evening=  
=Place: Toan's House=  
"How was your day, hun?" Toan's mother said,  
greeting the young hero as he walked in. Toan sighed.  
"Boring. I just about died of boredom!"  
"We wouldn't want that to happen."  
"By the time I find a way to cross that  
river I'll be an old man!"  
Toan sighed, walking upstairs to his room.  
"Maybe if I had some help.." he thought as he  
climbed the staircase, and was greeted by a meow.  
Toan looked up, and saw Xiao sitting on his bed.  
"I wish you could help, Xiao." he said, before something  
dawned on him; He reached into his pocket and pulled  
out a potion labeled "Changing Potion," then  
looked at Xiao, who eyed the bottle curiously. "Hmm,  
maybe you can.."  
  
The boy walked over to the cat, and petted her  
softly, before opening the bottle and offering it  
to the feline. The cat sniffed it warily as Toan  
poured it into a small bowl, but ended up drinking  
it soon afterwards as if it were milk or cream.  
Then, in a flash of light, the cat transformed in the  
blink of an eye. Toan stared in awe as a young girl stood  
before him, with feline ears and a catlike tail waving  
about slowly and twitching once or twice. She examined  
herself for a few seconds, then squealed. "Wow, I'm, like,  
a human!" she exclaimed, jumping up once or twice before  
noticing Toan and walking up to him. She got uncomfortably  
close to his face, sniffing him, then stood back a bit after  
a minute or two. ".. Master!"  
"Uh, call me Toan." the boy said uneasily.  
"Master Toan!"  
"No, just Toan."  
"Okay then, Toan! Xiao can help you with your  
adventure now!" said the feline girl joyously as  
she hugged Toan's leg affectionately. Toan looked a bit  
embarrassed, especially as his mom came in to pick up  
his laundry.  
  
"Oh, I'm glad you found a new friend, Toan." said his  
mother happily as if she saw nothing unusual about the  
catlike features, or about the House Cat not being  
there anymore, as she walked down the stairs.   
"Let's get some rest." Toan said with a yawn. "We  
can start again tomorrow."  
"Can Xiao come?" the feline asked. "Please?"  
"Of coarse you can!" Toan said with a grin  
as he wrote a quick entry in his journal.  
Xiao watched curiously from behind his back, without  
the boy noticing.  
"Adventure Day 6..  
I tried to chip a stalagmite (or is it a stalgtite that  
sticks out of the floor of a cave?) away in hopes of knocking  
it over and forming a bridge. Pch, you can guess that plot  
didn't work too well. You remember my house cat, Xiao? Well,  
I gave her a Changing Potion that the silver haired guy  
tossed me, and - you probably won't believe me when I say this -  
she transformed into a half-feline girl! No joke! I'm  
embarking on my quest again tomorrow with Xiao. I'll write  
again after that."  
Toan closed the book and hid it once more, and jumped,  
startled, as Xiao said, "Why were you drawing scribbles?"  
"Um, I was writing." he said as he cut the lamp out.  
"What's writing?"  
"It's like drawing, but you're putting words on paper."  
"Really? How?"  
"I'm sure mom'll teach you sometime."  
  
Xiao shrugged and slid over to where he was, lying next  
to him. "uh, what're you doing?" Toan asked. Xiao  
turned around to face him. "Xiao's sleepy." she yawned. "Xiao  
wants to sleep."  
"You're not supposed to sleep so close to people.." Toan  
said, sliding back a bit.  
"But you let Xiao sleep with you last night." Xiao said,  
looking at him strangely. "D-Don't you like Xiao anymore?"  
"That's not it, it's just humans aren't supposed to  
sleep in the same bed-"  
"But Xiao's a cat, not hum-" Xiao ended the sentance  
abruptly, remembering that she was human now. "Oh, Xiao  
remembers. Why can't Xiao sleep with you?"  
"It's complicated."  
"Then where's Xiao supposed to sleep?"  
  
Toan opened his mouth to say something, but no  
words came out. There was no guest bed; he certainly  
needed a good night's sleep tonight; his mom's bed isn't  
big enough; and he couldn't make Xiao sleep on the floor.  
The young hero sighed. "There's nowhere else to sleep..  
I guess it's alright if you sleep here-"  
"Yay!" Xiao said, lying down again with a purr.  
Toan turned over, scooting away from Xiao, and  
fell asleep a few minutes later, not noticing a pair  
of cat eyes staring at him untill he did.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
(]Adventuer Day 7[)  
=Time: Morning=  
Toan awoke, yawning, and felt something lying up  
against his back. He turned around slowly and saw  
Xiao, curled up and peacefully asleep. "I've got to  
get another bed." sighed Toan as he nudged the  
cat girl. "Xiao, wake up.. Xiao?"  
  
"Xiao still sleepy.." muttered the feline, grabbing  
Toan's hand and falling asleep, holding it like a  
teddy bear.   
Toan sighed, annoyed, as he tried to pull his  
hand away, to no avail. "Xiao, stop it already!"  
Xiao muttered something and turned over, dragging  
Toan's hand with her. "Xiao! Wake up already!"  
"Rowwrr..." Xioa muttered, sitting up and releasing Toan's  
slightly scratched hand. "What time is it..."  
"It's morning, and I'm about to head out to the   
dungeon again, so if you want to come--"  
"Yay!" the feline said, jumping up and clinging  
to Toan. "Take Xiao with you!"  
"I was planning to." Toan said with a smile. The  
cat girl grinned and pulled out a slingshot, following  
Toan out of the house and into the dungeon.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
(]Adventure Day 13[)  
Time: Morning  
Toan wrote one last entry in his diary before  
he and Xiao left to go to Dran's chambers.  
He'd been in the cave for days on end, so he  
hadn't had much time to write.  
"Adventure Day 13..  
I've missed a few days, I know. I guess I  
lost track of time, although sleeping on dungeon  
floors isn't that comfortable. It's been great so far.  
We reach Dran's chambers today. Xiao is an excellent  
fighter, and probably my closest friend now. We  
talked a lot these last few days; her about her previous  
life as a cat, and me about, well, everything she asked,  
which was pretty much my life story."  
  
The writing was a bit messy and shaken after this.  
  
"Uh oh, Xiao's getting impatient, she's jumping on  
the bed (which I'm sitting on while I write this).  
Jeeze that's sloppy writing, oh well. I'll write  
again tomo-----__________________/ "  
  
(Author's Note: Yes that line is meant to be there.  
Xiao jerked his hand to drag him to the dungeon, thus,  
the line was accidently sketched.)  
=Location: Dran's Chamber=  
Toan and Xiao crept up to a huge door. Toan  
put a key he found in Dran's Windmill into the keyhole  
of the door, and walked into the large room.  
  
There was a smell of rich earth in the air, as well as a  
bit of dust to irritate one's eyes; above were crystals, reflecting  
small rays of light that leaked through the roof. And up top, a  
huge flying beast roared, leaping off of a high cliff and flying  
towards them, spitting a fireball. Toan and Xiao leapt out of the  
way. "Dran is Possessed." the Fairy King said, appearing behind  
Toan. "You'll have to defeat him to break the spell."  
  
Toan nodded, then looked over at Xiao. "You sure you're  
up to this?"  
"Xiao's ready if you are!" the feline said, hissing as Dran flew  
overhead. She rolled over and began shooting at him with her slingshot;  
the feathered creature glared at her, enraged. "Uh oh.." miowed the cat  
girl as she ran out of the way as Dran charged towards her. Toan pulled  
out one of the monster's feathers, his body becoming instantly lightened  
as he dashed towards the beast, slashing at Dran's feet untill it took  
flight. Xiao stood up and began shooting him again untill he landed, enraged,  
and Toan began slashing him again untill he dashed up into the air.  
The two exchanged glances and smiles as they found a strategy that  
worked and repeated, surprised at how stupid whatever possessing  
Dran was untill Dran fell, regaining his old composiour in a few seconds.  
((Short? Maybe. But I'll make the duels better to make up for it, alright?))  
(]Adventure Day 13[)  
=Time: Nightfall=  
=Place: Canyon between   
Toan's hometown and the  
forest regeons=  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
Xiao and Toan sat around a campfire,  
both munching on fish Toan had caught.  
(Author's Note: Yes, yes, you can't really keep the  
fish you catch, I know. Pretend he stole'em  
or something.)  
  
"Hey.. Xiao?" Toan said in between bites. "Which  
have you liked best so far, being a cat or a human?"  
"Definately human!" Xiao said as she ate her  
second fish and began on a third. "How about you?"  
"Me? I've always been human -"  
"No, do you like Xiao better as a human?"  
"Of coarse!" Toan said with a smile.  
Xiao smiled too, then began devouring her third fish.  
"So when'll we get to this new villiage?"  
"Tomorrow I think." Toan said, finishing his fish and  
drinking some water.  
"Good, 'cause Xiao is sleepy." the feline girl muttered,  
walking over to Toan and lying down with her head in his  
lap.   
"I can tell." Toan said. "Let me get out the sleeping bags."  
-  
-  
-  
And in a few minutes, Toan was lying down in a green  
sleeping bag, Xiao in a white one; Toan fell asleep, exhausted,  
and Xiao did after staring at the sky for a few minutes.  
=To Be Continued=  
Author's Note:  
"Can you guess the couple? Xiao and Toan maybe?  
Or will it end up being Ruby and Toan?  
Or will I be strange enough to make a Goro and Xiao  
pairing!?.. Heck no, I loathe and despise that chubby hunter  
Goro. Keep reading, this shouldn't take too awfully long to  
complete. Pending on if I can ever get that blasted crystal  
door lock to activate.."  
-  
---  
- (^_^) Please Read And Review! =(^_^)=  
---  
- 


	2. Part II in which Toan realizes that life...

Disclaimer:  
I don't own Dark Cloud.  
If you didn't see this disclaimer before,  
then I am very mad.  
Because you forced me to write it again!  
Besides, if I did own it..  
I'd make Goro be devoured by the white snake.  
Because I hate him.  
Then I'd add to the game a cool little side thingy.  
Where Toan goes on a date with Ruby or Xiao.  
Kinda like on FF7.  
Which I do not own.  
.....  
I'm just wasting space out of boredom by the way.  
Feel free to skip to the author's note.  
This Disclaimer should be done soon though anyway.  
Plus I'd make it where Xiao and Ruby had more speaking parts.  
And where you could fight your teammates to the death.  
So I could kill Goro and steal his hammer to open switches myself.  
Well I guess I'll shut up now.  
Enough with the idiotic disclaimer.  
On with the fic!  
I think Steve the Slingshot's rubbing off on me..  
That or I'm rubbing off on him.  
Because he thinks Xiao is cute.  
And so do I!  
-  
-  
Author's Note:  
--Guess what folks? I fixed the spacing  
goof up! So as long as you can ignore  
a bunch of little slashes...  
-  
--Anyway, I'm up to the Sun and Moon  
temple so I thought I'd take a break from  
the game and begin chronicling my journeys -  
with my own little plotline mixed in. By the way,  
does anyone else think the Ice Queen is..  
kinda stupid? Pathetic even?  
---Well, enough rambling, the couple might  
be revealed in this chapter - or it may not.  
And hey, if you stick with me and keep reading,  
I'll throw in a nice bonus chapter or two after the  
end; the more good reviews I get, the more I'll be inspired  
to write! Even repeat reviewers! *hint, hint!*  
-  
-  
-  
-  
==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part II: in which Toan realizes that life is too short]  
-  
-  
-  
(]Adventure Day 15[)  
-  
-  
------Toan woke up with a yawn as he tried to  
get up - but he quickly realized that something,  
or rather someone, was clinging to his hand.  
"Xiao, you've gotta break some of these habits.." he  
said, nudging her to wake up. He tried to pull  
his hand away but she merely pulled it closer,  
hugging it with a content purr. "... this could  
take all morning.." he said as he tried to pull his  
hand away harder, only to have little claws sink  
into it a bit.  
--"Ow!" Toan yelled, not waking Xiao up as the  
feline girl just pulled his hand closer. "This could  
take all morning.." he sighed as he took out some  
Regular Water, and uneasily took the top off with  
his teeth. "Here's hoping I don't walk away with  
scars.."  
-  
-  
----And, a few moments later.. There was a splashing  
sound as the water fell upon the feline, followed by  
a shriek and a hiss, then a yell of pain, some shouting,  
then apologizing, and after half an hour to pack things  
up, the duo was off, with Toan's left hand bandaged  
due to cat scratches, and a still slightly wet feline  
stalking small animals as they went.  
-  
-  
-  
--[]A Few Minutes Later..[]---  
-  
-  
-  
------Toan and Xiao walked into a patch of trees,  
and into a clearing where a treehouse dwelling stood  
strong. Suddenly a huge hefty dude fell out of the  
tree, the ground quaking at his massive fatness as he  
hit the ground, the earth beneath him denting a bit  
like on Dragon Ball Z. ((Hahah, yeah. Gotta love  
the Goro bashing.))  
-  
-  
-----After a few minutes of Goro's idiotic rambling,  
he gets into a fight with Toan, Xiao cheering from the  
sidelines.  
--(And now to put my fight-scene skills to good use!!)--  
--(Please note that the Snake Fight will be muuuch better.)  
--(Because I like the snake. Not Goro. Goro doesn't deserve  
--a fair fighting scene. He's too useless.))  
-  
-LET THE DUEL BEGIN!!-  
--The goofy dueling music plays out. Toan whips out his  
sword as Goro slams his hammer to the ground menacingly.  
(Note: This duel will not be accurate to the game's. It will  
be cooler. Mwahah.)  
"Hya!" Goro shouted, slamming his hammer where Toan was  
standing as the green-clad hero dodge-rolled just in time,  
spinning and giving a low kick to Goro's legs, tripping him.  
"Feh, it was just luck!" Goro shouted, struggling to heave  
his massive self up. He swung his hammer in a wide circle,  
but Toan was way too quick for the slowpoke as he leapt  
agilly into the air, coming down hard and kicking Goro  
over the head, knocking the tub-o-lard to the ground with  
a massive THUD!.  
-  
-END DUEL!!-  
-  
-----Goro got up, gasping for air. He'd lost his breath  
entirely. "I.. I'll get you for this!!" he said, climbing up the  
ladder to his house. Toan and Xiao shrugged and walked  
off as the ladder broke and Goro plunged to the ground,  
passing out. (note. When you review? Tell me if I should  
just kill Goro and ignore his purpose in the game. = )---)  
-  
-  
-  
(]Adventure Day 20[)  
(Note: YES, I skipped a lot.)  
(But quite frankly I'm skipping the dull parts.)  
-  
-  
-Summary of the Last Few Days:  
-----Toan had rebuild a good majority  
of the forest town. And he had a cool  
new flute to show for it! Oh and he  
and Xiao are getting to be friendlier  
towards eachother...  
-  
-  
Xiao and Toan walked down the foresty  
path, Xiao humming a catchy tune and Toan  
checking his pockets to make sure the  
supplies weren't low. They reached a clearing  
with a large cave. Xiao's nose twitched once  
or twice. "Toan, Xiao has a bad feeling  
about this.." she said quietly, her tail twitching  
nervously as they approached the cave.  
Toan pulled out a Bone Sword. "Don't worry  
about it, what's the worst that could happen?"  
Toan said with a grin as he began playing on  
a flute he'd recieved. There was a hideous,  
horrific hissing sound from the cave as a monstrous  
white snake lunged out, slithering like lightning  
between the two as they fell back. Toan glared  
as Xiao ran away to a safe distance from the snake  
as it turned around, slowly approaching our hero.  
-  
-(Now for the good duel!! YESSS!!)-  
-(Awesome dramatic dueling music plays)-  
-  
--The snake hissed angrily as it struck at   
Toan, who nimbly dodged, but was knocked to  
the ground as the snake whipped his feet with  
its tail. Toan quickly rolled out of the way, the snake  
biting the ground where he once was with lethal poison.  
The snake turned, glaring at him with cold red/pink eyes  
and lunged for him suddenly. Toan gasped and jumped up  
into the air, coming down onto the snake and jabbing it's  
hard scaly head, his sword shattering as the snake  
reared back, throwing a stunned Toan and a shattered  
sword to the ground, a jagged shard of the sword  
cutting Toan's left arm. He groaned in pain, a bit of  
blood trickling down his arm as the snake hissed coldly,  
preparing to devour Toan in one bite. The boy cringed,  
the snake lunging down as Toan's life flashed before  
his eyes, a single regret entering his mind as he knew  
his life was over. "If only I had--"  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
(Author's Note: Is he DEAD!? Bwahaha, you won't know untill  
you read Part Three!! And you will find out the pairing soon,  
hopefully! And by the way, when I said THE WEIRDEST  
PAIRING EVER, that shoulda been a dead giveaway.. Oh  
and if the new spacing thing with the - - - - bothers you,  
let me know in a review. If I get enough complaints I'll  
go back to sloppy, spaceless writing. = ) ... Please  
no flames, you don't even know if Toan's dead or not!!)  
-  
-OH one last thing...-  
-One big plot modifyer I was thinking of..-  
-Should Goro be allowed to live and the story remain  
remotely the same...-  
-Or should he die in battle and Toan use his hammer  
to unlock them button doors?-  
-Let me know when you review!!-  
-Only your reviews can save (or kill) Goro the Fat One!-  
-And Only Your Reviews will bring about bonus chapters  
when this fic is over!!!-  
-  
- 


	3. Part III in which Toan finds more than a...

Disclaimer:  
Guess what?  
I DO NOT OWN DARK CLOUD!!  
Shocking, no?  
The only thing I wish I owned...  
is a Xiao action figure!!  
-  
-  
Author's Note:  
I love keeping you in suspense!! ^_^  
Can Toan really be a goner?!  
Am I that cruel to end the fic there!?  
Find out now!! The pairing shall  
be revealed!!  
-  
-  
==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part III: in which Toan finds more than a companion...]  
-  
-  
-  
Toan slowly opened his eyes to furious hissing,  
wondering why he wasn't dead yet, and saw the  
snake backing away from him, its right eye bleeding  
badly, drops of crimson dripping from it's face, a piece  
of shattered sword visibly stuck through it's eyeball.  
Toan staggared up as Xiao rushed over to him, picking up  
another broken sword shard for her slingshot and shooting  
it at the snake, the projectile bouncing off it's thick scales.  
It turned to the pair and glared viciously. Toan pulled  
out the Serpent Sword, and was about to strike when the  
snake charged him and Xiao. He was put in a familiar scenario;  
if he stood here, he'd be devoured, or atleast mortally  
wounded. If he dodged, his closest friend Xiao would be  
hurt badly. He cursed under his breath, using his sword to  
block the snake's wicked fangs, holding it off while it tried  
to strike time and time again. "Xiao, run!!" he yelled; the feline  
nodded, dashing away. The snake struck one final  
time and Toan rolled under the blow, dashing through it and  
fatally slashing a segment of it. The snake turned to face him,  
glaring coldly, half it's face sopping with blood, before it's eyes  
rolled behind its head, falling to the ground in two pieces, plunging  
into a puddle of crimson.  
-  
-----Toan fell to the ground, exhausted and weak from bleeding  
(remember that sword shard that grazed his shoulder?), and had  
to be helped back to the forest by Xiao.  
-  
-  
-  
(]Adventure Day 21[)  
=Time: Nightfall=  
-  
-  
----Toan and Xiao were allowed to stay over at the musician's  
place for the night. Toan stood outside on the balcony, his  
left arm bandaged up at the shoulder, his left hand still  
showing a few scars from when Xiao accidently scratched  
him last chapter. "Hi Toan!" came a soft voice from directly  
beside him, surprising him.   
---"Oh, hey Xiao." Toan said, adding mentally, 'I'll never get used  
to her sneaking around like that..'  
---"You've been quiet the last couple of days to Xiao." said the  
feline, looking up at the stars. "Xiao wonders why.."  
---"Sorry, I didn't mean to.. I, I've just been thinking a lot lately."  
---"Really? About what?" Xiao asked, her ears perking up with  
curiosity.  
---"Well.. like, how any of us could die, just like that." Toan  
said with a sigh. "We both could have been devoured  
yesterday.."  
---"Oh, Xiao understands. Xiao was scared, too." said the  
feline girl. Toan shook his head.  
---"It's not that I was scared of dying.. it's just.. well, it made  
me think.. there are a lot of things I haven't done in my life, that  
I'd regret not doing if I had died then - or if you died for  
that matter." he said.  
---"Like what?"  
---".. like, well.. I dunno, finding true love, stopping the Dark Genie,  
telling people goodbye.."  
---"Finding true love?" Xiao asked with a giggle.  
---".. er, yes." Toan said, a bit reddened in the face. He turned to  
face her. "Anyway.. I'd rather not wait untill I die before I say  
this.. so.. well... I love you, Xiao."  
---Xiao smiled, hugging his right arm. "Xiao loves you too.  
You're like a brother to Xiao." she said.  
---Toan shook his head. "No, I didn't mean.." he said, trying  
to think of how to explain it to a feline as Xiao eyed him  
curiously. "I meant.. I love you.. as.. uh.. a girl friend."  
---"A girl friend?" Xiao said. "But you have several friends  
that are girls, don't you?"  
---"No, no, I meant.. like.." ... 'jeeze this is hard..' he thought  
to himself, trying to think of how to make Xiao understand  
what he meant.   
---"....." Xiao's eyes widened in realization. "Y.. You want  
Xiao to be your mate?" she said softly.  
---Toan blinked. "Uh.. y-yeah, that's it." he said,  
wondering why he didn't think to put it that way  
before.  
---Xiao turned bright red in the face; Toan started to  
feel a bit humiliated and extremely nervous at this  
point, but then Xiao slid over to him, sliding her arms around  
his waist and nuzzling up against him affectionately.  
"If that's what "i love you" means.. then Xiao loves you too."   
the feline girl said, purring contently as Toan kissed her  
lips softly, holding her close.  
-  
-  
------"Hey guys, I'm going to bed now." the musician  
said, walking out to where they were standing. They looked  
at him then quickly seperated, both looking embarassed.  
".. ahem, I'll leave you two kids alone now." he said with  
a chuckle as he walked back into his bedroom for the  
night. The pair laughed nervously as they embraced again,  
kissing one last time before heading to bed.  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-(Author's Note: Well, didja expect THAT pairing?  
I told you it'd be the weirdest one in this  
category yet! Please, no flames R/T fans o_o;  
And this isn't the end of the fic, it'll span untill  
the end of the game, and if I have enough reviews  
i'll add a few bonus chapters after that *hint, hint!*)) 


	4. Part IV in which Xiao kicks butt

Disclaimer:  
..... Hey kiddies, here's  
a REAL plot twist!  
I don't own Dark Cloud!  
Isn't that nifty?  
Will someone please tell me  
where I can find a Xiao action figure!?  
-  
-  
Author's Note:  
I know the spacing was pitiful for the first  
chapter or so but thanks for bearing with me.  
On the .txt documents it had proper spacing;  
FF.Net altered it. Oy.  
-  
Well, I heard someone else wrote a Xiao/Toan  
fic here - so that means I'm not mentally  
disturbed too badly after all! ^_^  
Now that I wrote a bit of mush, i'm proud  
of it. And for as long as he remains on this  
fic, expect more Goro bashing. I hate  
that useless little crybaby.  
Hey Cheetah, nice idea. I might keep the guy  
around for comic relief. A story ain't a story  
without an airheaded moron in it somewhere = )  
On with the fic!  
-  
-  
-==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part IV; in which Xiao kicks butt]  
-  
-  
"Adventure Day 21,  
---I feel happier tonight than I ever  
have before. After almost getting  
eaten by a snake, I confessed my  
love to Xiao. I know, I haven't written  
it in here, and it is rather sudden, but  
it was the heartfelt truth. And - can  
you believe it - she felt the same way!  
So now we're 'mates', as Xiao would  
put it. Well, guess that's all there is to  
write. Oh, I found a switch near where  
I slayed that snake. Yeah, there was this  
giant white snake freak. I would've died  
ad Xiao not been there. Anyway, that switch  
looks like it'd take a hammer or something to  
push, so maybe we can convince that  
chubby hunter Goro to join us. Oh, yeah,  
might as well add that the town's coming along  
great so far. Guess I'll hit the sack now, Xiao  
says I need rest for my wounds to heal."  
-  
-  
-  
(]Adventure Day 22[)  
=Time: Morning=  
-  
-  
-------Toan woke up, but didn't bother  
trying to get up; he just looked over and  
saw an innocent feline girl clinging to his  
arm, hugging his hand and purring in her  
sleep. The young hero hated to disturb her,  
but they needed to get an early start today.  
-  
-----"Xiao?" he said, nudging her gently  
as the musician walked into the room and  
began cooking himself breakfast. He  
looked over at the pair. "Want some food?"  
-----"Yes, please." Toan said as he tried to  
ease his hand away, only to get it scratched  
up a bit once more. The moral to this story?  
So far it's 'if you're going to sleep with  
felines, wear protective gloves.'  
-----"Does she, uh.. always do that?" the  
musician said, hiding back his amusement  
at the pair as he began pouring some sort  
of soup into three bowls. Toan nodded.   
"You get used to it." He felt Xiao's grip  
loosening as her nose twitched slightly,  
then the feline woke up with a start.  
-----"Xiao smells fish!" she squealed  
happily before yawning and stretching  
out much as a cat would. The musician handed  
a bowl to Toan and Xiao, and began eating  
the third.  
-  
-----Toan had just taken a few bites of his  
when Xiao drank the last bit of hers and  
looked at Toan. "Xiao's still hungry.." she  
said with a frown - Toan knew it was a feigned  
one, but he sighed and handed his bowl over  
to the feline who grinned widely and finished  
pretty much all of it. 'well, I never eat  
much for breakfast anyway..' he thought with  
a shrug.  
-  
-  
-=Time: Noon=-  
-  
-  
-----After having a conversation with Goro,  
and watching him baul like a baby and yell  
at his father, they finally were able to drag  
the tubby excuse for a hunter along with them  
as the Official Button Presser Person. And  
things went by quickly after that.  
-  
-----They were able to get through  
those doors with button-locks, and   
went through the rest of the forest  
with the greatest of ease. And then  
they got to the FOrest Guardian.  
(Yes, I forget its name. Sorry _O)  
-  
-=Time: Late Afternoon=-  
-=Location: Forest Guardian's Dwelling=-  
-  
-  
-------The trio entered a large clearing in  
the forst, with Goro eating some cheese  
they were trying to save for when they  
needed it. "Xiao has a bad feeling about  
this.." the cat girl said, her tail twitching  
nervously as she looked around, staying  
close to Toan. Goro laughed.   
-  
--"Scaredy cat." Goro said. Xiao scowled. "What's  
the worst that could happen?" the hunter  
continued.  
-  
----And, as if on que, just as those words  
had left Goro's mouth, a huge apelike  
monstrosity - the possessed Forest  
GUardian - leaped down and landed on  
Goro, slamming him into the ground.  
"...ow.." Goro muttered in agony as he  
was pummelled.  
-  
-----"Great, just like the Dran situation."  
Toan said with a sigh. "I bet it'll be  
just as easy too."  
-  
-----As soon as he said this, the gorilla  
thing smashed its fists into him, sending  
him sprawling backwards a ways. He  
staggered up. "Okay, maybe I was wrong.."  
-  
----------Xiao pulled out her latest  
slingshot (the Double Impact,  
ladies and gentlemen) and began  
pummeling the gorilla with  
rocks. The gorilla charged her,  
doing a spinning assault which she  
nimbly dodged before attacking  
when the beast was dizzy. Then Toan  
ran up from behind the monster  
and climbed up it's back, and was about  
to poud it with the Wise Owl Sword when  
it swung around quickly and, seeing as he  
was hanging on for dear life, Toan dropped  
the sword. The Guardian staggered back and  
forth dizzily after that; Toan quickly took  
out the Cross Hatch (did I get that name  
right?) sword and smashed the hilt of it  
onto the back of the monster's neck three  
or four times. It roared and fell backwards,   
Toan rolling out of the way to avoid  
being crushed.  
-  
-  
------"That was.. kinda easy." Xiao said,  
putting her slingshot away. Toan nodded,  
walking over to her.   
----"You alright?"  
----"Of coarse Xiao's alright!" the cat girl  
said with a proud grin. "Xiao was much  
too fast for that hairy monster."  
-----"Ugh... bones.. broken... need..  
assistance..." Goro muttered, his voice  
racked with pure agony as he lay on a  
patch of dirt nearby. Toan and Xiao sighed,  
walking over to the dead weight and picking  
him up. And after explaining things to the  
now-awakened Forest Guardian, they dragged  
Goro's fat carcass back to town. Oh and in  
case I forgot to mention, he opened the path  
to the Brownboo villiage (((Brownboo.. not an  
easy name to forget. Unless of coarse I got  
the name wrong.. at which point I am now  
humiliated beyond all reason.)))  
-  
-  
-=Time: Nightfall=-  
-  
-----The trio stayed at Goro's pad this night;  
the hunter didn't mind as long as he was allowed  
a decent night's sleep. Xiao and Toan were outside  
at this time, however, looking up at the stars.  
-  
-----"So where are we going next?" Xiao asked  
curiously.  
-----"A place with wizards that should be strong  
enough to seal the Dark Genie." Toan replied.  
**Warning: Yes, Spoilers Will Arise Soon**  
-----"Do you ever wonder who that creepy  
silver headed guy was?"   
-----"Sometimes." Toan shrugged.   
-----"If he has the nerve to show his face again,  
Xiao'll teach him a lesson!" the feline girl  
said with a yawn. "But for now, Xiao's feeling  
sleepy.."  
------"Yeah, I'm gettin' sleepy too." Toan  
said with a yawn. He stood up and walked  
towards the ladder, climbing up it with  
Xiao close behind, and slowly walked to  
the only guest bed in the house. He crawled  
under the covers as Xiao pounced onto  
the bed next to him. Toan smiled, leaning  
over to kiss Xiao lightly on the lips. The cat  
girl grinned, nuzzling up against him with  
a content purr. She continued talking about  
different things for about ten more minutes,  
but Toan had fallen asleep and missed pretty  
much all of it.  
-  
-  
-  
-  
Author's Note: "To that guy who reviewed saying  
he'd like to see a Ruby/Toan pairing; After I'm done  
with this fic, I'm honestly considering writing one.  
... it won't go along with this fic whatsoever, mind you.  
To Goro fans, no flames for the near-constant bashing of  
Goro. And I know the fight with the Forest Guardian was  
short and horrid; but sorcerors/sorceresses are my favorite,  
and the Ice Queen is up next, so expect a good battle  
next episode! Oh yeah and please review; when I'm done  
I'll throw in a nice bonus chapter or two as promised.  
Oh, and if you have any suggestions for bonus chapters,  
include them in a review and I'll try to write it up for ya."  
-  
- 


	5. Part V in which Toan gets cold feet

Disclaimer by Steve:  
"Hey folks, guess what?  
Yeah, I knew my popularity  
would catch up to me one day.  
It's me, Steve, the Talking  
Slingshot! And I'm here to say  
that SpacePirate Khan does not own  
Dark Cloud, or Xiao, or me, or anything.  
I get to make an appearance today!  
And I'll be one of the main characters  
from here on in! Isn't that great!?  
I just KNEW being a lowly weapon  
would pay off one of these days!  
Booyah, lookit me mommy! Throughout  
the fic, when you see something such  
as {gak, don't let it lick me!}, it means  
I'm saying one of my catchy little  
phrases. And--"  
-  
**the camera changes to show Khan**  
-  
-  
Author's Note:  
----Yeah, yeah, guess you know by now  
that Steve the Slingshot has made his  
way into my fic... Anyway.. There may be  
a bit more romance in this chapter or the  
next, depending on how much I can actually  
write about a sunken ship and a desolate  
town. I guess I should take a moment to  
thank Cheetah Smith for reviewing this fic  
so much = ) I really appreciate it. Also,  
a special thanks goes out to all my pals  
that've read this. Alrighty then. Oh yeah,  
and the further into the game this fic gets,  
the more impressive the fight scenes  
against bosses may be. Because let's face  
it, Dran and the Forest Guardian were  
pathetic both in this fic and in the game.  
On with the show!  
-  
-  
-  
-==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part V; in which Toan gets cold feet]  
(hahah.. you'll get the pun later.)  
-  
-  
-  
(]Adventure Day 26[)  
(Yes, yes, I skipped a lot  
of days, so sue me.)  
-  
"Adventuer Day 26,  
I haven't written since the 21st,  
so I guess I have to catch up with  
the writing. We got to this place  
called Brownboo, and found out  
some mage people could defeat  
the Dark Genie. Unfortunately,  
they lived on the Moon. Yeah. Major  
downside. And they lost the key to  
their ship! Oy vey.. Well, anyway, we're  
now in an arabian-like town, searching  
for some orb that controlls the  
space ship. I've rebuilt a large majority  
of the city, and there was this guy  
named King who gave me a Lamp for  
my trouble. Well, what should come out  
of an arabian lamp other than a genie?  
Ruby was her name, and her and King  
seemed to have had a relationship at one  
time.   
-----Anyway, now that the town only needs  
a few finishing adjustments, it's been pretty  
dull around here. Goro's been pigging out   
on fruit and cheese and - mostly - fish, to  
no surprise. Xiao's been visiting the Cathedral  
a lot; I still haven't figured out why. And  
me, well, I've been busy reconstructing the  
town. Easy, but time consuming. Well,  
that's all for today. I'll add to this entry  
tonight."  
-  
-  
-  
=Time: Noon=  
-  
-  
------Toan closed his journal; he'd been walking  
while writing so the font was a bit sloppy, but he'd  
saved time and was at the cathedral. After adding  
a tower nearby, he walked in the cathedral building.  
And he saw the main reason why he'd come this  
way; Xiao. The feline girl was sitting on a step with  
the priest, who was explaining about the whole  
'marriage' thing, both not noticing Toan walk  
in as he slowly walked up to them.  
-  
----"So I can't get married till I'm 18 years old?" Xiao  
said, a hint of dissapointment in her voice. The  
priest shook his head. "You could get married, but  
you would need consent from your parents." he  
explained.  
-----Toan was about to say hello when Xiao  
pounced him. "Trying to sneak up on Xiao, huh?"  
said the feline with a triumphant smirk as she  
sat on top of Toan, pinning him to the ground.  
"Didja forget Xiao was a cat?"  
-------"It was worth a try." Toan said with a chuckle.  
"Can you let me up now? I found this key today,  
I think it'll open that music box we found in the  
sea wreck yesterday." he said, flashing a small  
golden key.  
------"Ooo, Xiao wants to go!" she said, her  
eyes gleaming with curiosity as she rolled off of  
Toan and stood up. Toan shook hands with  
the priest and Xiao gave the man a hug before  
the pair walked out of the cathedral. (A/N: I like  
the priest, his name is Andrew, just like mine.)  
-  
-  
------Toan and Xiao walked down the docks  
to where Goro and Ruby stood, near a submarine.  
---"About time you two showed up. I'm hungry." Goro  
said, his fat face in a scowl. "Don't tell us to meet  
somewhere if you're gonna be late!"  
----"Mm-hmm," Ruby said in agreement, "if you  
wanted a little privacy you could've just asked." the  
genie said with a wink.  
-----"Why would we want privacy?" Xiao asked with  
a curious look on her face as Toan turned a bit  
red. Ruby giggled.  
-----"You're too innocent for your own good, hun." she  
chuckled as she climbed into the sub. Xiao was still  
puzzled, having no idea what Ruby was talking  
about as Goro squeezed his fat self into the sub, causing  
it to sink slightly. "We better get in before  
Goro submerges it." Toan said, grabbing Xiao's hand and  
pulling her into the sub with him. They closed the latch  
and shot off into the deep blue sea towards an eerie  
sunken ship, the only sound known to them was the  
occasional tone of sonar and undersea bubbles rising  
around them, along with the steady purring of the  
submarine's engines.  
-  
-  
-=Five Minutes Later..=-  
-  
-  
-----On the way to the music box, Xiao stopped by a treasure  
chest while the others pounded on fish monsters. She opened  
it up and saw a slingshot, but it was the most peculiar slingshot  
she'd ever seen. At first glance it was the same as any ordinary  
slingshot; but upon closer examination, it had a face carved  
into it; a few small black buttons lined the middle of it, and two  
little boots stuck out from the bottom. Two little arms arched up  
and held the rubber band used to launch projectiles at foes,  
and on the part where you put ammunition, the name "Steve"  
was sewn in silver thread. {*yawn* Yo, 'sup?}  
----Xiao squealed and dropped the slingshot in surprise.  
Goro, being the nearest and slowest, ran over to her, and  
instead of asking what was wrong, he noticed the weapon  
and picked it up. "Hmm, nice toy.." he said, holding  
it up and shooting a few stones.  
----"..! Hey! Give it back, fatso!" Xiao said with a hiss. Goro  
scowled. "Or what?" he said, flickign the slingshot once  
or twice. Xiao ran up to attack him but he used his massive  
weighted gut to bounce her back with a guffaw. Xiao  
had a tear in her eye but it quickly dried up as she heard  
familiar sneaking footsteps.  
----Goro jumped as he felt a tapping on his shoulder, and  
turned around to face Toan, who was tapping his right foot  
impatiently. "Something wrong here?" Toan asked.  
-----"Yeah, that mannerless cat of yours called me fat!"  
-----"And she speaks the truth." Toan said with a smirk. Ruby  
laughed as she walked into the room upon hearing Toan's  
remark. "What are you doing with a slingshot, hmm?"  
-----"I-I just wanted to see it--"  
-----"He tried to steal it from Xiao, then he knocked Xiao  
to the ground!" the feline girl said with a scowl. Goro  
looked horrified.  
-----"Goro, give Xiao her slingshot back." Toan said,  
giving Goro a quick glare. Goro backed down, handing  
the slingshot over, before hauling his fat but out of  
there. Ruby followed. Toan helped Xiao up and the two  
walked into the next room with Goro and Ruby.  
-  
-  
----{"Don't drop me again, understand? I got a headache  
now.."} Steve said. Toan looked over. "... Xiao, am I hearing  
things or did your weapon just speak?"  
----{"Talking weapons aren't weird; what is weird is a  
talking cat."} the slingshot muttered.  
----"Her name is Xiao." Toan said.  
----{"Xiao. Cool name. Guess I'm now officially  
your weapon."} Steve said. {"If I could move  
my arms I'd shake hands with you all. But since  
I can't, how about a friendly shot or two at  
each of you?"} Steve added sarcastically.  
-  
-  
-----The group went back to a room with an ominous  
music box. Toan walked up to it and put the key into  
the keyhole and twisted it. There was the sound of a lock  
snapping, and a beautiful song played, along with a message.  
((Note: I forget the message, just play the game to this  
point.)) Then suddenly they were transported to what  
appeared to be the catchedral. An eerie red glow filled  
the air as the music continued playing, and a brunette  
haired woman slowly turned to face them.  
-----"Xiao has a baaad feeling about this.." Xiao said,  
twitching slightly. {"Talking in second-person  
perspective must be fun."} Steve commented.  
-  
------"I've been waiting for you... for so long..  
down here.. under the ocean.." the woman said in  
an eerie voice. Xiao hid behind Toan as she said  
this, and the lady turned into a creepy looking lady,  
also known as The Ice Queen. "... crap." Toan said  
as the room became ridged and cold.  
-  
-----"Let me at'er!" Ruby shouted, as she dashed  
up to the woman and began hurling fireballs,  
ice crystals, gusts of wind, and other magical  
attacks at the witch. It appeared to hurt the woman  
for a while, but then it became innefective and  
a huge icey blast was fired off at Ruby, freezing her.  
-----"Let's get this over with. I'm hungry." Goro  
said, stomping up to the queen, his massive footsteps  
shaking the cathedral under his weight. He smashed  
her to the ground with his hammer, but only once  
before the queen shot a blue ball of ice energy. Goro  
squealed like a sissy and ran in circles, but accidently tripped  
due to his lardness and fell, the floor quaking from his  
weight. "Xiao, be careful!" Toan shouted as Goro was  
frozen and he and the cat girl dashed up to the Ice  
Queen together. Toan hacked away at her, doing no damage  
whatsoever. {"Whoo-wee, what a babe!"} Steve said. {"Don't  
tell me I have to shoot HER!"}  
-----"Sorry!" Xiao said, pelting the snow queen with   
rocks before she, too, was frozen. Toan growled,  
yelling and charging at the Snow Queen.  
-----"Three gnats down, one to go.." the icey sorceress  
muttered.  
-  
-  
-------Toan slashed at her relentlessly, jumping back once  
or twice only to dodge icey blasts. He got a good slash in,  
cutting her left arm, then another, and another, leaving  
three cuts in her dress' left sleeve, frozen crystals of  
blood dropping to the ground and shattering. {"H-H-Hey,  
l-l-look at th-that, she has i-ice in her v-veins! L-Literally!"} Steve  
the Frozen Talking Slingshot remarked. {"Brr, s-someone unfreeze  
us, p-p-p-please! I feel m-my arm c-c-cracking.. th-that's not g-g-good.."}  
-  
-----Toan held the Cross Hatch and took stance, preparing to  
Windmill Slash the wicked queen; but instead, the ice  
sorceress laughed sinisterly. Toan gasped as shards of ice  
jutted out of the ground beneath him, barely scraping him  
all over as a numbingly cold wind shot up around him. A large  
ice crystal fell on him, shattering onto his body. He yelled  
in agony, the shards of ice being blown by the mini-tornado  
formed around him, cutting him all over, badly in some places.  
"Looks like it's over for you." The Ice Queen said with a cold  
smirk. She gasped, however, as a flash of green surrounded  
Toan. In a mere moment, he dashed at her, his Cross Hatch  
blade transforming, a blue crystal blade forming and a gold  
ancient hilt appearing in his hand as he thrashed the Queen's  
barrier, shattering it in a single blow. "Gah, insolent brat!!  
I'll drag you to the grave with me!!" the wicked queen yelled  
as Toan's feet were frozen to the ground, the ice slowly spreading  
up his leg to eventually freeze him solid.   
-  
----"Don't give up!" called out Ruby's voice as a bolt of lightning  
slammed into the Ice Queen, who screamed as she fell backwards.  
----"Yeah, you promised me more food if I helped!" Goro said,  
who was about to hammer the ice queen before he tripped  
and fell on top of her instead - which, trust me, was a LOT more painful.  
The ice queen blasted the tub-o-lard off of her with a scream as  
fiery rocks began pelting her, each exploding on impact.  
----"Don't give up, Toan!" Xiao shouted. {"Yeah! This is no  
time to get cold feet!"} Steve added - sarcastic as always. The  
ice around the group had melted while the Queen had toyed  
with Toan. They were back. Toan groaned, his feet numbening  
with pain from the ice, feeling like millions of needles were piercing his  
skin simultaneously.  
-  
-  
----Ruby dashed at the queen throwing fireballs at her, before  
a huge crystal of ice fell on top of her, shattering and knocking  
her out cold. (no pun intended)  
----{"I smell repair powder.."} Steve said as Ruby shot more  
fiery stones at the queen as she shot jagged shards of ice  
at Goro, who fled in terror and smashed up against a wall  
idiotically, knocking himself out. {"You know, I had an  
ex-girlfriend like her. She was a firecracker.. literally!"}  
----Xiao ran out of ammunition, with Steve complaining  
about his sore almost-broken arms. She dropped the  
slingshot and dashed into the Ice Queen, slashing at  
her viciously and biting her with all her animal fury  
left inside of her, tearing into the queen and brutally  
mauling her before an icey blast sent her flying backwards,  
the cat girl screaming as she hit the ground, passing  
out cold. (again, no pun intended.)   
-  
----{"Ouch! This ground's cold $@*& it!"} Steve yelled  
as he hit the ground. Toan scowled darkly, yelling as he  
slashed at the ice around his legs, shattering it, ignoring  
the surging pain as his sword cut his leg a bit, bolts of  
electricity shooting up his leg on impact. He was like  
an unstoppable force of nature as he plowed into the  
snow queen, slamming her to the ground with the flat  
of his blade. "This one's for Ruby!" he said as he  
slammed the witch to the ground again with the hilt  
of his sword. "And this one's for Steve the Slingshot!" he  
said, kicking the snow queen in the gut a few times.  
"And this is for Xiao!!" He smashed his foot into the snow  
queen's nose, drinking a bottle of Stamina Drink  
before he grabbed her up by the hair, causing her to  
scream in agony before he used his stamina-induced  
strength to spin her around by her hair and hurl her away with a  
slash of his sword. The Ice Queen fell to the ground.  
Toan ran up to Xiao, sprinkling some revival powder onto her  
before the pain finally caught up to him, his wounds all  
paralyzing him as he collapsed next to the feline girl.  
-  
-  
-  
-=Time: Nightfall=-  
-  
-  
----Toan woke up, and started to get up but groaned  
in pain as he felt his cuts. He looked down and  
saw himself in green&black pajamas, his lower  
legs bandaged up, and bandages wrapped around his  
upper legs and arms in a couple of places.   
"Where.. where am I..?"  
----"The fortune teller let us sleep in the front  
room." came a soft voice, bringing a smile  
to Toan's face.   
----"Hey Xiao." he said, looking around, realizing  
for the first time that he was lying on the floor  
on a worn, creaky matress. "What happened?"  
-----"We had to drag your stupid carcass back  
here." Goro said.  
-----{"That was a brave assault you pulled  
today, kiddo."} Steve the Slingshot said. {"Brave..  
but frankly, stupid."}  
-----"Steve, hush!" Xiao scolded. "That was rude."  
-----{"You're so cute when you're angry."}  
-  
-----Xiao put the slingshot away with a sigh as  
Goro walked back to his part of the tent and fell  
asleep. Xiao leaned down to Toan and they  
exhanged whispers for a minute, before kissing  
and bidding eachother goodnight as the lights  
were turned out.  
-  
-  
-=Time: Midnight=-  
-  
------A cold figure hovered above the town,  
wearing shadow-black clothes with a black  
trenchcoat, the steel on the tip of his boots  
shining in the moonlight. He boredly stared  
down at the sleeping burg. "You'll all be  
mine, very soon.." he said icily as two figures  
crept across a bridge to the other side of  
town. The dark figure watched curiously  
for a moment or two. "So you're the ones.."  
he muttered. "We'll meet soon, boy. You  
will fear my name as everyone else does."  
With that, he disappeared in a gust   
of wind as the pair took out a couple  
of pieces of paper and entered  
a large building.  
-  
-  
-  
---Author's Note:----  
"Remember kiddies, don't try ANY of this at  
home!! This is a story, not real life. In real life,  
shards of ice cutting you up like that would  
cause you to die. In real life, falling on top  
of wicked sorceror women is not a good  
offensive tactic. And in real life, slingshots  
are not enchanted and do not talk."  
{"Hey! Not true!"}  
"Shut up Steve."  
{"But Xiao left me behind..."}  
"Hey! I said shut up! You're giving away  
a plot twist, idiot!"  
{"Hah, big givaway, anyone can  
guess that--"}  
"SHUT UP OR I'LL LET GORO SIT ON YOU!!"  
{"No, not that!! Anything but that!!"}  
"THEN SHUT UP!!"  
{"Shutting up!....................."}  
"Good. Now then. Don't forget to review!  
I just beat the Sun&Moon Temple today  
and thusly it'll be what I write about  
next. Mild Spoilering. And Cheetah,  
sorry about Ruby stealing your line,  
the gang got ahold of the reviews list.  
I hate when they do that.. The Smash Bros  
gang does it a lot..."  
-  
-  
- 


	6. Part VI in which Toan and Xiao fight a B...

./Disclaimer by Steve:  
"The Slingshot is in da house!  
*cough* Yep, Khan is so sad he  
owns nothing. Nadda. Zip.  
Oh and I'm supposed to ask  
if anyone knows where a Xiao  
Action Figure is.  
Now then, less about the disclaiming  
and more about me.."  
-  
--**camera changes**  
-  
-  
-----Author's Note:  
"I think I might give Xiao the Disclaimer  
part.. Anyway, for those that wanted more  
romance, didn't you pay attention  
to the end of the last chapter? If not,  
all shall be revealed in due time, heh.  
(keeping in mind that this is a video game  
world.. not.. real.. life..) Oh, and I just  
beat the game. Will I change the ending,  
or will I explain the last video..? Or will  
I allow it to have a tragic ending?  
-  
----Anyway, I'd like to thank all who've reviewed,  
I'm convinced to add atleast one bonus chapter  
guarenteed so far = ) I'm still taking suggestions for  
what you'd like to see as a bonus chapter, just give  
suggestions in yer reviews.  
-  
-  
-  
-==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
~(Behind the Scenes!)~  
[Part VI; in which Toan and Xiao fight... a box?!]  
-  
-  
-(]Adventure Day 29[)  
-  
------Ruby yawned, stretching as she got out of  
her tent. They'd been at this blasted Muska Luca  
place for 24 hours so far, and although most of the  
town is rebuilt, it wasn't exactly her kind've place.  
-  
-----The genie walked over to the other tents to  
wake the others up. She stopped in front of Goro's,  
deciding it best to let the tub of lard sleep in today  
and snuck into Toan's tent instead.  
-  
------"Aww," she said, "they're so cute.."  
------Inside Toan's tent was, of coarse, Xiao.  
Who was currently sleeping contently, clinging  
to Toan. She walked up to them, her footsteps   
awakening Xiao, who yawned groggily as she  
sat up. "Just five more minutes.. Xiao's tired.."  
------"Sorry, hun, but we've gotta get an early  
start today." Ruby said.  
------"You still want to leave soon, huh?" Xiao  
asked, cuddling the covers around herself. It  
was early in the morning, and it was freezing.  
------Ruby nodded, then winced a bit as something  
reflected light in her eye. She looked down at  
Xiao's hand and noticed a shimmering ring.  
"Xiao, where'd you get that?" she asked, pointing.  
------"What, this..?" Xiao asked, holding her  
hand up. "Toan gave it to Xiao." she said with a grin.  
"Isn't it pretty?"  
-  
-----Toan yawned and woke up. "... Ruby.. what're you  
doing.. it's six in the morning.." Toan said groggily.  
Xiao giggled and slid over to Toan, leaning on him,  
resting her head on his chest. "Xiao's cold." she said,  
shivering slightly.  
-----"Yeah, Toan's cold too." said the young hero,  
immitating Xiao's odd manner of speaking as he wrapped  
covers around himself and Xiao, cuddling her close.  
-----Ruby looked at the ring closer, and noticed which  
particular finger it was on.. "Uh, Xiao, you realize  
that's your wedding ring finger, right?"  
-----"No, Xiao didn't know that. Is that bad?"  
-----Toan whispered something in Xiao's ear. "Oh,  
Xiao understands!" the feline said. before closing  
her eyes again.  
-----"Wait, you two got--"  
-  
-----Goro barged into the room right as Ruby was  
about to finish. Toan quickly nodded to Ruby's question  
before Goro exploded. "Hey, what's all the comotion about!?  
I'm TRYING to sleep!!" he yelled. "You realize that lack  
of sleep can give someone a heartattack!? You're  
killing me!! I can't live like this!!" The fat dude continued  
griping and complaining as he walked into his tent  
untill he fell back asleep.   
-----"Well, congradulations for being the youngest  
couple ever!" Ruby said with a wink as she walked  
out of the tent. Toan pulled out a diary, being careful  
not to disturb a sleeping feline next to him.  
-  
-  
-  
"Adventure day Twenty-Nine,  
My life has gone pretty spontaneous now.  
One minute I was sitting at home, petting  
a cat, the next thing I know I'm married to  
her. Ok, that sounded.. disturbing. Just so  
you know I mean Xiao. I'm not married to  
a house cat, more like a cat girl. It's hard to  
explain.  
Well, as Ruby said, we're the youngest  
couple. I'm, like, 14, and Xiao's about  
11. Wish I had a video camera. Maybe I'll  
go ask my mom if I can take ours with us for  
the rest of the adventure sometime.  
... of coarse she's going to freak when she  
finds out I'm married...  
Guess that's all to write for now.  
Wonder where Xiao would like to go  
for a honeymoon.."  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-=Time: Noon-=  
(A/N: For once, I'm actually going to  
go into detail of their journeys through normal  
boring stages. Enjoy!)  
-  
-  
-  
------Everyone cautiously walked into the  
next floor of the Sun&moon temple (although  
Sol and Luna would've sounded cooler..); They  
had stopped by Ruby's home town to restock,  
and, well, things didn't go too well when she went  
to visit King. In fact, King's club was frozen over,  
and his cherished car was as crooked and bent out of  
shape than the legal system by the time Ruby got  
through with him. Also, Ungaga was over his  
"i'm a worthelss piece of crap" phase and was now  
part of the team.  
-  
-  
------As soon as they entered the temple floor,  
they met an intersection of three different  
paths. "Alright, let's split up." Toan said, sounding  
much like a Scooby Doo rerun. "Xiao's going with  
Toan!" she said, clinging to him before anyone could  
say a word. Ruby giggled. "Guess I'll go a different  
path and give you two some privacy." she said as she  
began walking down the middle path. "Just don't let  
that fat guy follow me.." she whispered to Toan as she  
passed. Toan nodded and motioned for UNgaga to follow  
Ruby. "Well, Goro, looksl ike you're on your own." Toan said  
as he began walking down the left path. Goro grumbled and  
walked down the right, muttering "i don't need none of you.."  
-  
-  
-------{"Hey, I see a ring on your finger, Xiao!"} Steve the  
babbling slingshot said five seconds later. Xiao nodded  
with a grin. "Xiao's married." she replied.  
------{"Married!? At your age!? That's politically  
incorrect!"}  
------"Put a sock in it." Toan said to the slingshot.  
------"Put a sock in what?" Xiao asked innocently.  
------{"Yes, maybe I do speak too much. But atleast  
I humor you all."}  
-------"......"  
-------"......"  
-------{"...... What? I do!"}  
-  
-  
-  
-------Xiao reached down and grabbed Toan's  
hand, leaning up against his shoulder as they  
walked. "Toan... this place is creepy.." she said,  
her thin fur standing up as if by static electricity  
as her tail twitched nervously back and forth.  
Toan slid an arm around her shoulder, kissing  
her cheek "I won't let anything happen to you." he  
said in a comforting voice as a few mummies began  
walking towards them.  
-  
-------{"Uh, fellas? I hate to break up this  
touching, fuzzy moment, but we've got  
friends."} Steve said, interrupting the moment.  
The other two nodded and stood back-to-back,  
slaughtering the monsters with the greatest of ease.  
-  
-  
-((Alright, Writer's Block is rearing it's ugly head. SKip!))  
-  
-  
-=Time: Evening=-  
-  
-  
-  
-------Everyone was inside a large crypt area with  
a huge eye. Xiao looked as nervous as ever. Ruby was  
her usual carefree self. Goro was eating cheese. Ungaga was  
looking around warily. Toan was doing the same, while trying  
to comfort Xiao, who didn't like this place one bit.  
And a coffin arose from out of nowhere, an aura of darkness emitting  
around it and creating a makeshift form.  
-  
-  
-------{"Look, it's a big box surrounded by an aura of pure destructive  
evil!... I love pointing out the obvious."} Steve said as the monstrosity  
began marching towards the group.   
-  
-----"Goro smash box thing!" the fat hunter yelled, slamming his hammer  
into the aura to no avail as he was slammed into a wall with a grunt.  
Ruby rolled her eyes. "What a moron." she said as she hurled various  
spells at the monster - from a safe distance.  
-  
-  
------{"Hey Xiao, lighten up and watch the fat people fry!"} Steve said  
with a chuckle. Xiao sighed as she shot a few unsuccessful shots at  
the box. "Say something useful for once, Steve!"  
-  
-  
------Just then, Toan dashed into the coffin. "Take this!" he yelled,  
slashing his sword at the blazing aura of shadows, which hurled him  
back with insane fury. {"Y'know, what we really need is a good wind  
right about now. I'm getting stuffy in here."} Steve muttered as Toan  
staggared up. Ungaga looked at the slingshot. "You're a genius!" he  
said, as he began twirling his staff quickly at the monster. (That's right  
gamers; a story AND a boss strategy guide! And yes, I heartily reccommend  
letting Goro get his buttocks kicked! It's fun!) The dark aura was split apart.  
Toan growled, dashing up to it, and leapt at it; he stabbed his sword into it, slicing  
upwards as he kicked off the coffin, doing a full backwards summersault, using  
the sword and himself as a human buzzsaw as he sliced the cursed object in  
half; the shattered remaints of the coffin fell to the ground, the aura faded, and  
Toan tell face-first into the ground, his sword ricocheting off the ground and flying  
away from him. What, you expected him to actually pull off that move perfectly?  
-  
-  
-  
-------Toan heard a faint clapping from Xiao as she walked up to  
him - er, rather ran - before the feline clung to his arm once more. "Let's  
get out of here.." she muttered. Toan nodded and he ran around, sprinkling  
revival powder on everyone. In a few minutes, they were all off to the next  
and final room. (I know, that battle wasn't long at all, but what can I say  
about a fighting box?!)  
-  
--(Plot Spoilers Ahead)--  
-  
-  
-------Everyone slowly walked around a room with a huge gigantic flying  
vessel in the middle of it, it's basic shape looking much like a viking's ship  
with cannons on the sides and a dragon head in front, which was the  
entrance to the ship with some hovering platforms. "Hunters first!" Goro  
yelled, charging up and across the platforms&into the ship with ease.   
{"You mean Fatsos First, ya hippo."} Steve commented, causing the others  
to snicker. Ungaga and Ruby went next, with Toan and Xiao following  
close behind.  
-  
-----Suddenly, the whole temple began quaking. "O-Oh no, this is not  
good!" Toan shouted as he and Xiao picked up the pace, running faster  
as pieces of the roof began falling in large chunks, several narrowly missing  
our favorite duo. Toan leapt across the first three platforms, Xiao following  
with the greatest of ease as huge rocks fell on the ones behind them, shattering  
the platforms to pieces and plunging the remaints into the large seemingly endless  
pit below. Xiao and Toan both gulped nervously as they hastily leapt to the next  
platform, the one they were standing on being smashed by another rock as several  
other rocks fell. After a few more leaps, they were almost there; their hearts leapt  
as the platform they were currently on began sinking at an alarming rate as the duo  
jumped; Toan grabbed the edge of the platform, holding on for dear life as the ship rose  
with Xiao cling to his chest, her arms around his back, her claws sunk into him with  
panick, causing a bit of blood to escape him in the process.  
-  
-----{"Ya know, it's times like these I'm REALLY glad I'm attached to  
someone when not in use."} Steve commented as the ship rose higher. Toan  
started climbing up, Xiao clinging to him as hard as ever. {"I'd hade to  
be in you people's shoes, that's for sure--"}  
-----"Steve, I'm trying to concentrate here!" Toan said with a grunt, heaving  
himself and Xiao over onto the flying boad.  
------{"Fine, fine, ignore everyone's favorite slingshot. Bet I'd get a lot  
more recognition if I were Super Steve.."}  
-  
-  
-  
--(Author's Note: Eheh.. I promise I'll have more romance! Don't kill me!...  
Anyway.. There will be spoilers soon. I recently beat Dark Cloud - and  
does anyone agree when I say the Dark Genie is pathetic, namely his  
final form? - so I'll be finishing up this fic in, oh, two or three more episodes.  
Which means.. REVIEW LIKE MAD!! Eheh. Please?  
There's atleast one Bonus Chapter to come, I promise; possibly more if  
I feel generous. And reviews make me very, VERY generous. Hint, hint,  
nudge, nudge--  
{"They get the point. Shut up and end the chapter. So I can post it.}  
How can you post it? You're a slingshot!  
{"Ahah! There's where you're wrong! I'm Steve! The talking--"}  
Slingshot.  
{"...."}  
-  
-  
- 


	7. Part VII in which the adventure ends?

Disclaimer by Steve:  
  
"Khan does not own Dark Cloud.  
  
Heck it's so old now thanks to his  
  
so-called 'writer's block' no one'll  
  
be interested anymore. But I shall never  
  
give up hope! For I'm better than him. I  
  
am... SUPER STEVE!  
  
...  
  
Well actually I'm just Steve. But still,  
  
a talking slingshot? That's pretty super  
  
anyway! And while we're on the subject  
  
of talking about slingshots, namely me--"  
  
  
  
*insert witty interruption*  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
My sincerest apologies for not updating in  
  
so long. Thanks should go to whoever it was  
  
that emailed me about it - that encouraged  
  
me a lot to know someone liked this tale that  
  
much. Oh and I've given up on the dashes for  
  
spacing - looking back, that just looked weird.  
  
Anyway, to make up for it, I'm gonna cram several  
  
parts of the game in here - bear in mind I haven't  
  
played the game in atleast a year now, so... yeah.  
  
  
  
{"Translation? The spoiler-free zones are just things  
  
he forgot..."}  
  
  
  
Oh shut up Steve. Anyway, I hated these two levels in  
  
the game; the Desert thing where you get UNgaga, and the  
  
blasted space area. Both were sooo long and monotonous!  
  
Ugh! Atleast the final area changes just a bit the further  
  
into it you go. And as awesome as a fight with that hidden  
  
boss would be, I'll have to hold off on it for now, for  
  
two big reasons;  
  
1.) 100 Floors!? Whoever came up with THAT bright idea  
  
should be mauled by Xiao. I couldn't stand the monotony  
  
of seeing the same rooms 20+ times, much less 100...  
  
2.) Dark Cloud, my copy anyway, is.. *sniff*.. LOST!  
  
  
  
Oh and don't expect any Dark Cloud 2 fics from me, cuz that  
  
game has no Xiao, no Toan, heck, no Goro! I hate the guy but  
  
you gotta admit, he's so fun to make fun of =P  
  
Apologies for people who are insulted by the way I insult  
  
Goro, but as that was only one person complaining, I can't  
  
resist being mean to the hammer-toting oaf. Now enough wasting  
  
your time with a huge author's note, On with the fic!  
  
Oh yeah, one final note/warning, I HATE THIS PART OF THE GAME!!!  
  
So expect most of the writing to be between-the-lines, except  
  
for the boss fighting scenes of coarse. In other words; don't  
  
get mad when I use time lapses. But this has still turned out to  
  
be a long chapter. So, enjoy =)  
  
  
  
  
  
-==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
  
~(Between the Lines!)~ (Yes, I FINALLY fixed the title.)  
  
[Part VII; in which the adventure... ends?]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Adventure Day 30,  
  
We've set off towards the moon, and, well, something  
  
has been troubling me. Many things, actually. What if  
  
we aren't able to stop this Dark Genie? He's supposed  
  
to be the most feared being on the planet... but that  
  
pales in comparison to the nightmares I've had lately.  
  
I've been worried.. what if the changing potion only  
  
had temporary effects? What if Xiao turns back into a  
  
house cat? I've never even heard of that potion before,  
  
I don't know how it works, so I could be worrying for  
  
nothing. But those nightmares seemed so real..."  
  
  
  
  
  
"You look troubled." called a soft voice behind Toan,  
  
causing his heart to skip a beat before he relaxed once  
  
more. He put his journal away and turned to face the  
  
feline girl behind him. "Can Xiao help?"  
  
  
  
The two sat on a small bed, in a dim room lit by nothing  
  
more than a single candle.   
  
  
  
"Nothing's wrong, I just had a bad dream, that's all." Toan  
  
said, sliding back in the bed to sit next to Xiao.   
  
"Xiao didn't know dreams could be bad. Poor Toan." Xiao  
  
said with a frown, hugging the green clad hero. "Tell Xiao  
  
what happened."  
  
  
  
Toan looked down at the demi-feline, and sighed. He didn't  
  
want her to worry like he was; even though her cute, but naive  
  
nature would probably keep her from worrying, he wasn't  
  
going to take the chance; but at the same time, he knew  
  
Xiao wasn't going to leave him alone untill he gave her an  
  
answer. "It was... Goro... he tripped and fell on top of me."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xiao's eyes widened and she clung to Toan, shivering a bit.  
  
"That IS a scary dream! Xiao doesn't want to sleep now!" she  
  
said, clinging to Toan as if for her life. Toan layed back  
  
and cuddled Xiao close to him. "Don't be silly, Xiao. Dreams  
  
can't hurt you." Toan said, running his fingers softly through  
  
Xiao's reddish hair.  
  
  
  
The cat girl looked up at him curiously. "Really?" she asked,  
  
staring at Toan unblinkingly. Toan nodded, and Xiao sighed out  
  
of relief, nuzzling into Toan. "That's good.." she said with  
  
a yawn. "... cuz Xiao's sleepy..."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, Toan's sleepy too." Toan said, finding the second-person  
  
speech rather addictive as he closed his eyes, the two of them  
  
sound asleep in less than a minute.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(]Adventure Day 40[)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan and the little mechanical rabbit walked down the grey path  
  
towards the Arena, where a great prize was being given away -  
  
something they needed to power a gigantic robot which was built  
  
to destroy the Dark Genie. Toan stepped into the arena, right  
  
on schedule, as the warrior he remembered seeing sign up before  
  
him was slammed into the wall beside the entrance.  
  
  
  
In the middle of the arena stood a gigantic bull-like creature,  
  
much like a minotaur. It glared at Toan as he entered the arena,  
  
the giant doors slamming shut behind the boy in green. "Haven't  
  
fought alone in a while... this could be fun." he said, pulling  
  
out a large blue-crystal-bladed sword and taking stance.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Can no one stop this mighty beast? If he wins one more round,  
  
the minotaur goes home with the grand prize! Let the final  
  
match begin!" shouted the announcer as the crowds roared in  
  
applause.  
  
  
  
  
  
The bull rushed Toan before he'd expected it, and the young  
  
hero had just enough time to jump over the moronic titan, who  
  
continued charging and slammed into the arena wall head-on.   
  
The beast shook its head and growled, turning to glare viciously  
  
at Toan once more.  
  
  
  
The hero got his sword ready, and smirked at the oaf, who began  
  
charging again. Toan leaped over its head and spun around as he  
  
landed behind the beast, slashing it's hind quarters in one quick  
  
circular swing. The monster roared and stood on its hands, kicking  
  
TOan with is feet and sending him flying backwards.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oooh, don't forget what happened to the last guy who did that  
  
to the minotaur!" the announcer shouted. "This won't end well!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan laughed as he stood back up, dusting himself off. "Oh,  
  
gee, I'm really shaking." he said, pulling his sword out just  
  
in time to be headbutted back into the wall he just got slammed  
  
into a few seconds ago. Toan gasped and rolled out of the way  
  
just in time to avoid getting gored through the wall by a pair  
  
of jagged horns, and while the bull was stuck in the wall Toan  
  
began slashing him all over as much as possible.  
  
  
  
The creature finally broke free of the wall and punched Toan  
  
in the face; the hero in green fell backwards and rolled back  
  
on his feet in time to meet another, weaker punch, just enough  
  
to stun him for a roundhouse kick to the gut and one final blow  
  
to the chin, knocking him backwards once again and sending him  
  
flying into the air.  
  
  
  
  
  
As Toan was about to land, the bull nailed him in the back  
  
twice with his hooves, sending him flying higher than before.  
  
Poor TOan was being tossed like a ragdoll, and as he was  
  
getting ready to land as best as he could, the bull charged  
  
him and slammed him into the wall. Toan yelled in pain as his  
  
left arm was grazed by one of the bull's horns, blood dripping  
  
down from the wound as the bull smirked coldly, snorting a  
  
bit of dust at Toan as it began punching him into the wall even  
  
harder than before, then finally grabbing Toan and slinging him up  
  
into the air.  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan growled as he flew into the air. "... if I'm not careful..  
  
this guy's gonna.. kill me.." he said as he tried to get a grip  
  
on his sword, but after one more heavy uppercut to the back,  
  
Toan went flying up higher than ever, losing grip of his sword.  
  
".. no..!" he shouted weakly as his limp body began to fall again.  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan hit the ground hard, sending dust flying from under him as  
  
the Bull walked up and put a foot on his chest, shaking his hands  
  
victoriously before walking to the middle of the arena and doing  
  
other goofy dances and the like.  
  
  
  
"I don't think he's getting up this time! Let's start the countdown!"  
  
  
  
"1... 2... 3...." the announcer began shouting, the crowd still  
  
cheering as loud as ever.  
  
  
  
"I've got.. to get up.." Toan said mentally, but he was so bruised,  
  
beaten and weak, he couldn't force himself up an inch. "4... 5... 6..."  
  
came the shouts of the announcer as Toan looked up with a sigh,  
  
giving up entirely. His body was practically numb with pain at this  
  
point. "7... 8... 9..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly a loud roaring was heard and the entire crowd fell silent,  
  
allowing for an echoing thud to be heaerd moments later. Toan blinked,  
  
confused, and looked over to see that his sword had miraculously fallen  
  
into the miniotaur and stabbed it's head somehow, killing it in seconds.  
  
  
  
  
  
"... WELL! In a shocking turn of events, the newcomer is the champion!!"  
  
the announcer shouted, causing a new uproar of cheers. His head was  
  
throbbing, his entire body was sore, and his arm had searing pain   
  
coarsing through it, but he was still able to force a smile. Nothing  
  
could stop them now; the Dark Genie was going to die.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
((Time: That Evening))  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan was carried into a guest room in an alien house near the factory  
  
by Ruby and Goro. "Why can't the whimp carry himself?" grumbled Goro  
  
as they walked into the room, with Xiao worriedly stalking the trio.  
  
"He's probably just faking all this pain and stuff so we'll carry him!  
  
The lazy good for nothing--"  
  
  
  
Goro heard a menacing hiss from behind him, and a look of horror  
  
fell upon his face. Ruby grinned, relieving Goro of the task of  
  
carrying Toan as she sat him down in the bed and floated off, stopping  
  
at the door as loud yells were heard to watch Goro getting mauled  
  
by a very much ticked off cat girl. "Ruby!!! Saaaave meee!!" Goro  
  
yelled out in agony, as more loud hisses were heard and thud after  
  
thud accompanied the floor shaking a bit every second. Xiao had Goro  
  
pinned on his gut, sitting on Goro's back and grabbing him by his hair,  
  
slamming his face into the floor over and over again.  
  
"You should've known better than to insult a feline's injured mate." Ruby  
  
said with a chuckle as she floated off. "Noo! Wait!! Come baaack!" Goro  
  
whined, before, after one more minute of beating, he escaped and ran for  
  
his life, leaving Xiao behind, who currently sported a proud grin at what  
  
she'd just done.  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan was walking down a forest path with Xiao, heading back home.  
  
The Dark Genie had been slain, and he was heading home to live a  
  
happy peaceful life. The pair were walking hand in hand, and  
  
were about to reach the end of the forest, when Toan noticed Xiao's  
  
hand was beginning to get furrier than usual, as well as her fingers  
  
were shrinking and getting rounder. ".. Xiao, what's happening?"  
  
Toan said, looking over and, to his horror, Xiao was turning back into  
  
a simple house cat. ".. oh no." he said, dread filling him as the cat  
  
began to run away. "Xiao, come back!" he shouted, chasing after the  
  
feline; but no matter how fast he tried to run, he couldn't even   
  
vaguely catch up to her. And suddenly the ground under him began  
  
to give way and everything around him shattered as if it were glass,  
  
sending him plunging into a void of pure darkness.  
  
  
  
Toan hit the ground hard, standing up a few moments upon the cold  
  
hard stone to look around as a spotlight surrounded him from out  
  
of nowhere. He was supposed to be strong; supposed to be unphased  
  
by anything, the hero destined to save the world. But the thought  
  
of losing Xiao forever made him want to cry.  
  
  
  
But then he heard loud footsteps, sounding as if they came from  
  
a pair of boots circling around him. "Poor little Toan." said  
  
a deep voice, which echoed throughout the void. "What will you  
  
do now? You've lost everything you held dear."   
  
  
  
Toan sighed as he looked around. "Nothing. This is just a weird  
  
nightmare." he said confidently, relieved upon the realization of  
  
it. Then he saw the shadowed image of a person walk barely into  
  
the light, revealing a long coat, pants, boots and a shirt, all  
  
of which were as black as the darkness around them.  
  
  
  
"A nightmare? Or is it a vision of what is yet to come?" the  
  
man said, a tone of amusement in his voice. Toan looked at  
  
the figure curiously. "A.. vision?"  
  
  
  
"You're going to be betrayed, Toan. Betrayed by someone  
  
you'd never imagine would be so cruel." the eerie figure  
  
said as he began pacing around Toan once more. Toan  
  
stared at him, not letting him behind his back for a second.  
  
  
  
".. you're lying. This is just a dream, nothing more." he  
  
said, reaching for his sword, but it wasn't there. The  
  
dark figure chuckled dryly.  
  
  
  
"I'm not your enemy, Toan. In fact, if you'll trust me,  
  
I'll help you get revenge when the time comes." he said  
  
with a grin. Toan still wasn't sure of this man's intentions,  
  
but decided to make sure of a few things.  
  
  
  
"Ok, if you supposedly know what's going to happen,  
  
who's going to betray me? Don't say it's Xiao." he said,  
  
ready to just ignore everything the man had to say if  
  
it was.  
  
  
  
But he merely laughed a bit and turned to face Toan in the  
  
darkness. "I cannot tell you anything right now."  
  
"In that case, I guess we'll just have to see, as you said,  
  
when the time comes." Toan said, beginning to grow annoyed  
  
with this ominous person.  
  
  
  
"Fine, fine. For your own comfort, it isn't going to  
  
be Xiao." the mysterious figure said. "For now, just  
  
wake up already."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wake up, Toan... Toan, wake up.." a voice called over  
  
and over again as Toan was enveloped in darkness completely.  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
(Time: 2:20 am)  
  
  
  
Toan slowly opened his eyes to see a worried feline staring  
  
at him from right in front of his face. Xiao had been sitting  
  
on top of Toan, trying to wake him up for the last five  
  
minutes. ".. what is it, Xiao?" Toan asked groggily. Xiao  
  
sighed out of relief and nuzzled into Toan's neck affectionately.  
  
"Xiao heard you shouting while you slept." the cat girl  
  
said. "Xiao was worried you were having a bad dream  
  
again."  
  
  
  
"Oh.. thanks for waking me up." Toan said with a smile,  
  
before groaning a bit as sharp pains here and there reminded  
  
him of his wounds; most of them had been healed, but a few  
  
of the worse ones were still recovering. You didn't think  
  
those healing items always worked instantly did you?  
  
  
  
Xiao sat up on top of TOan once more. "Hey Toan, guess  
  
what Xiao did?" she asked. Toan looked up at her  
  
for a moment, before saying "Hmm... I give up, what?"  
  
"Xiao mauled Goro for calling you a whimp!" Xiao said  
  
with a triumphant grin. Toan laughed at this for a  
  
little bit.  
  
"Great job, Xiao." he said, "you're the first one of us  
  
to put that moron in his place."  
  
  
  
"Put him in his place? Xiao didn't put him anywhere, Xiao  
  
beat him up!" said the feline girl, a bit confused. Toan  
  
chuckled a little bit.   
  
"It was a figure of speech." he said. "Pretty much means  
  
the same as what you just did."  
  
  
  
"Ohhh. Humans talk weird." Xiao said, before rolling over  
  
next to Toan and snuggling up against him with a yawn.  
  
"Xiao's still sleepy now.. good night."  
  
  
  
Toan grinned and rolled over to kiss Xiao good night,  
  
cuddling her close as the pair fell asleep. The final  
  
fight with the Dark Genie would come soon, and that weird  
  
dream worried hima little as well, but he knew as long  
  
as he had Xiao by his side, he could get through anything.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(]Adventure Day 50[)  
  
  
  
{"That's right, Khan can't remember much of anything that  
  
happened in the last part of the game, so he's skipping  
  
straigt to the final fight. Spoiler free? Yeah, but who  
  
cares? It's so fun to make fun of the bum! Oh to those who  
  
haven't played the game and may wonder, the weapon built  
  
to stop the Dark Genie? It failed."}  
  
  
  
  
  
The party stood before the Dark Genie himself. The hideous  
  
demonic purple creature, who was about to destroy everything.  
  
The evil creature they were trying to slay throughout their  
  
entire quest. They were finally there... and ready to kick his  
  
sorry butt for putting them through hundreds of monotonous  
  
dungeon floors.  
  
  
  
"He doesn't look so tough." Goro said as he pulled out a  
  
giant frozen fish to fight with.   
  
"Let's finish this." Ruby said, sliding a shining wristband  
  
on as an aura surrounded her.  
  
  
  
{"MAN, there's a face only a mother could love!"} Steve  
  
said sarcastically. {"... then again, not even a  
  
mother could love a face that ugly!"}  
  
  
  
  
  
"Goro smash ugly purple thing!" Goro yelled, rushing up  
  
to the big purple creature to smack it with his fish. As  
  
he drew near however, the Dark Genie held his hand out and   
  
blasted Goro with a powerful beam of magic, sending the  
  
idiot flying backwards, the ground quaking as he landed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan pulled out his sword as Xiao took stance with Steve  
  
and the real fight began.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You'll never stop me, you fools! You're all going to die,  
  
right now!" the Dark Genie yelled as a shockwave covered  
  
the area, blasting the entire team backwards a ways.   
  
Ruby spun back to her feet and hovered into the air,  
  
rapidily shooting beams of magic one after the other.  
  
  
  
Xiao clung to the ground, skidding to a stop before jumping  
  
up and shooting at the Dark Genie, trying to poke out his  
  
eyes with a rock or two. The purple demon blocked the magic  
  
shots with one of his arms, catching each stome with another  
  
before he reached out and picked up Goro, slinging him at  
  
Ruby as if he were a weapon.  
  
  
  
  
  
The genie gasped and flew out of the way just in time as  
  
Goro landed and tumbled, rolling over and crushing the poor  
  
little midget robotic rabbit thing. (I forget his name,  
  
dang it e_e)  
  
Toan rushed up to the fiend and jabbed his sword through  
  
the Dark Genie's hand. The creature roared and slammed  
  
its free fist into Toan, bashing him aside.  
  
  
  
"Hey! No one does that to Xiao's mate!" Xiao shouted,  
  
putting a few crystals into Steve and loading up a fresh  
  
stock of bullets, spraying the Dark Genie as she slowly  
  
made her way towards Toan.  
  
  
  
The Dark Genie blocked every singe one of them, and right  
  
as he was getting ready to counter-strike, a spear impaled  
  
his arm, as well as a new burst of magic bursts. He roared  
  
once more and turned to glare at Ungana and Ruby, opening  
  
fire with hundreds of magic beams upon them.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Xiao sprinkled some repair powder on Steve as she reached  
  
Toan, who was already on his feet and getting his sword  
  
ready for a fresh assault.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, Steve began to glow and a cape appeared behind  
  
him, as well as a goofy little outfit to replace his old  
  
clothes and a little Superman-parody emblem on his chest.  
  
{"Hey! Look, in Xiao's hands! Is it a bird? Is it a plane?  
  
No, it's... SUPER STEVE!"} the Slingshot shouted happily.  
  
  
  
"Xiao thinks we should work together." the feline said to  
  
Toan. He nodded. "That's what we've been doing, Xiao."  
  
"No, listen, Steve's got an idea!" Xiao said happily.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Dark Genie hurled two huge beams into Ruby and Ungaga,  
  
slamming them both into a wall with an evil smirk. "Now  
  
for you.." he said, turning to face Toan and Xiao. The  
  
pair smirked as Toan stepped on Super STeve's stone holding  
  
thing and Xiao gave Steve some stamina drink (I know you  
  
can't do that on the game but work with me here =p)  
  
  
  
"Let's see you handle this!" Toan shouted as Super Steve   
  
hurled him at the Dark Genie. Toan landed on the Dark Genie's  
  
chest, stabbing through his skull and kicking off, doing  
  
a backflip and.. getting slammed by a beam of magic, flying  
  
into the wall next to Xiao.   
  
The Dark Genie roared in agony, the sword still stuck through  
  
his face, and in less than ten seconds the Dark Genie had  
  
disintegrated and was no more.  
  
  
  
Everyone slowly staggared up (except for Xiao, the only one  
  
who wasn't injured, and except for the little bunny dude.  
  
Having Goro fall on you is not pleasant, and something he  
  
may not walk away from without being carried.)  
  
  
  
Toan passed out the healing items and they all stared at  
  
where the Dark Genie once stood. After the initial shock  
  
of winning was over, they all began cheering loudly and  
  
hugging one another and dancing around to celebrate.  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
  
  
((Time: After Dark Genie's demise, the next day))  
  
  
  
PROLOGUE...?:  
  
  
  
  
  
After the Dark Genie was slain, the heroes went  
  
their seperate ways. Well, most of them atleast.  
  
The bunny dude whos name escapes me departed for  
  
Brownboo once more, to begin a career as an  
  
inventer. Ruby decided to roam the planet. After  
  
being cooped up in a lamp for so long, she  
  
wanted to live life as an adventure and find things  
  
no man or woman had seen before.  
  
  
  
Goro went back to being a forest hermit. He was too  
  
lazy to be adventurous, and too anti-social to go  
  
with anybody else. Ungaga returned to his villiage,  
  
determined now that he was stronger, to defend it  
  
from any threat that may ever arise again.  
  
  
  
And Toan and Xiao were walking towards Toan's  
  
home town, going through a forest at the moment,  
  
only an hour after getting rid of Goro. The  
  
pair were happily walking hand in hand, with Xiao  
  
leaning her head on Toan's shoulder as they  
  
went.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mom hasn't seen me in so long... she's gonna  
  
freak when she finds out..." Toan said with  
  
a chuckle. He dreaded it, and knew it'd be a  
  
headache, but untill the time came it was atleast  
  
an amusing thought. Xiao seemed confused at this  
  
comment however. "Why would Toan's mom 'freak"?"  
  
Xiao asked curiously.  
  
"Uh, well, freak is a figure of speech, it means  
  
she'd get really mad." Toan explained.  
  
"Xiao hates figures of speech, they're so confusing!  
  
But why would she get mad?"  
  
"Well... you know how humans aren't supposed to get  
  
married untill they're 18 or older, unless they  
  
have written consent from their parents?" Toan asked.  
  
Xiao nodded.  
  
"Well..." he continud, "... we didn't exactly get  
  
our parents' consent. She has no idea we're even together."  
  
  
  
"Ohh. But why should it matter?" Xiao asked. "I know  
  
Xiao's mother would be proud for Xiao, if Xiao knew  
  
where she was... Xiao is the only cat to ever be  
  
mates with a human!"  
  
  
  
"Well, maybe a cat would be happy of that. Who knows,  
  
I could be wrong." Toan said, lightly scratching behind  
  
Xiao's ears, causing the cat girl to purr.  
  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly, there was a beam of light that appeared in front  
  
of them, and the Fairy King appeared. Toan looked at him  
  
with a grin. "Hey, Fairy King. I didn't think you came on  
  
friendly visits without business."  
  
  
  
"Actually, there is a certain matter of business I must  
  
speak to you about." the Fairy King said, walking up to  
  
the pair. Xiao gulped and hid behind Toan.  
  
"Xiao, what's wrong?" Toan asked. "This is the Fairy King,  
  
he's nothing to be afraid of."  
  
  
  
Toan looked back at the King. "So, what's the matter?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well... although the Dark Genie has been destroyed,  
  
there are disturbances remaining... things that aren't  
  
meant to be the way they are now in this world." the Fairy  
  
King said, a solomn look on his face. "... while one of  
  
the disturbances still eludes me, I do know where  
  
one problem is arrising from."  
  
  
  
"And you want me to stop it?" Toan said with a grin.  
  
The Fairy King sighed.  
  
"No, Toan, I couldn't ask you to do this. All I can ask  
  
you to do, is to remember that it is for the best of  
  
this world, and that you won't interfere."  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan looked a bit scared by this. "What.. do you mean,  
  
Fairy King?" he asked, a confused and worried look on  
  
his face. Whatever it was had to be serious, or F.K.  
  
wouldn't be talking to him like this...  
  
  
  
"That Changing Potion was never meant to exist in  
  
this world." the Fairy King said, keeping the same  
  
solemn frown. Toan looked even more horrified now.  
  
  
  
"Just what are you saying?" he said, his voice  
  
raised a bit now. The Fairy King sighed again.  
  
"Toan... Xiao wasn't meant to become a cat girl.  
  
Half-human felines weren't meant to exist in this  
  
world, otherwise I'd have given you such a potion  
  
myself. The only reason I allowed her to remain in  
  
this form as long as I have was because I knew you  
  
wouldn't be able to do this quest without her."  
  
  
  
"So now that your precious world isn't threatened  
  
you're just going to turn her back into a cat?" Toan  
  
said angrily. "Xiao, what do you want?"  
  
  
  
"Xiao doesn't want to be a cat again..." called a broken  
  
up voice behind Toan, accompanied by sniffing now and  
  
then. "Xiao wants to stay like this..."  
  
Toan glared at the Fairy King.   
  
"You hear that? She wants to stay like she is now."  
  
  
  
"What she wants isn't what is best for her, or for  
  
this world." the Fairy King said. "Please, don't  
  
make this difficult, or I'll have to use force."  
  
  
  
"Pch, I just slayed the Dark Genie, old man. And  
  
you'll have to get through me first." Toan said with  
  
a scowl as he pulled out his sword.   
  
  
  
The Fairy King sighed once again. "So be it." he  
  
said as a white aura surrounded him.  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan held his sword defensively; he felt betrayed  
  
now, felt like he'd enjoy nothing better than to  
  
strike down the old man right about now. But something  
  
in him, his heroic side, held him back at the moment.  
  
A moment too long.  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan was surrounded by a similar white aura as he  
  
was jerked away by magical force, being slammed  
  
into a tree, his sword flying into a rock on the  
  
opposite side of the path, getting it stuck quite  
  
deeply.  
  
  
  
The young hero groaned and looked in horror as  
  
a white aura surrounded Xiao. SHe screamed, tears  
  
streaming down her face as her skin began to grow  
  
furrier, her body shorter, and her overall appearance  
  
more and more catlike untill she was her old  
  
house cat self.   
  
  
  
  
  
"No! What have you done!?" Toan yelled as he stood  
  
up and rushed at the old man, jerking his sword out  
  
of the nearby stone and swinging it at him. The Fairy   
  
King easily dodged, before a magical barrier surrounded him.  
  
  
  
Toan began striking the barrier time and time again,  
  
attacking more ferociously than he did against anyone  
  
before.   
  
"It had to be done, Toan." the Fairy King said. "It  
  
had to be done..."  
  
  
  
And in a matter of seconds, the Fairy King vanished in  
  
the same pillar of light he appeared from. Toan just  
  
stood there a moment, breathing heavily as he dropped  
  
his sword, too stunned at the recent events to move.  
  
  
  
And after a few seconds he walked over to Xiao and  
  
sat down, picking her up and cuddling her in his lap.  
  
The little house cat, who currently had watery eyes  
  
and damp fur around her face, began to purr as he  
  
did so, nuzzling up to him affectionately.  
  
"I'm sorry, Xiao... I should have been able to stop  
  
him..." Toan sighed, his eyes filling with some  
  
tears of his own. Already he missed her naive   
  
personality, her soft voice, the way she would stalk  
  
him everywhere he went, every little thing  
  
she did...  
  
  
  
  
  
"What did I tell you? Betrayed, just as I had  
  
predicted." said a somewhat familiar voice behind Toan.  
  
Toan turned around to see a young man, who wore all  
  
black; a black trenchcoat, black shirt, black pants,  
  
and black boots. "Atleast you've still got eachother."  
  
the man said with a bit of a laugh.   
  
  
  
"You.. you said you could help me when this  
  
happened, right?" Toan said, standing up, still holding  
  
the feline close. "Who are you, and how can  
  
you help?"  
  
  
  
The man in the coat took a slight bow.  
  
"The name's Dimitri Aosis, kid. And as for helping you,  
  
well, you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." he  
  
said with an unnervingly mischievious grin. Toan  
  
stared at him for a few moments as Dimitri extended a  
  
hand. "I'll give you the power, and the resources, to  
  
get revenge on this Fairy King, and keep him from turning  
  
Xiao back to normal. I know as a hero you have somewhat  
  
of a bleeding heart, so I'll let you imprison the old  
  
fart instead." Dimitri said, not giving Toan a chance  
  
to interrupt before he continued. "You see, I come from  
  
another world myself, and the old man won't give me peace  
  
of mind. I could easily deal with him myself, but, well,  
  
as embarrassed as it is to say it, I don't know how to work  
  
the containment field. I'll be watching you, and the moment  
  
your task is finished, I will turn Xiao half-human myself,  
  
and you'll never have to worry again."  
  
  
  
{"Boy, the man sure likes to talk. Can someone pick me  
  
up here? I've been lying on the cold hard ground for ten  
  
minutes people!"} Steve yelled from the dirt behind  
  
Toan. He ignored the slingshot for now and, without  
  
hesitation, took Dimitri's hand and shook it a few times.  
  
"You've got yourself a deal." said Toan. Dimitri  
  
grinned once more. "Excellent..."  
  
  
  
  
  
-------------------  
  
--To Be Continued--  
  
-------------------  
  
  
  
Wow, longest chapter yet. I think. Who is Dimitri, and can he  
  
really be trusted? Will Toan succeed, and live happily  
  
ever after? Find out, when I get off my lazy butt and  
  
write Part VIII!  
  
  
  
{"If anyone ever reads this story again, that is. You  
  
take too long, you dimwitted moronic lazy-"}  
  
  
  
And one final question to leave you in suspense:  
  
Will Steve the Slingshot lose his position as Disclaimer  
  
spokesperson!?  
  
  
  
{"O_O... uh oh."}  
  
  
  
Find out this and more next chapter! 


	8. Part VIII in which the adventure begins ...

Disclaimer by Steve:  
  
"Phew, glad I didn't lose my  
  
position. This'll look really  
  
good on my resume for future careers.  
  
Whoa, I just realized, I better start  
  
sounding professional! *cough*  
  
...  
  
Dark Cloud and all characters associated  
  
with it are copywrite... uh... oh crud,  
  
I don't even know who owns Dark Cloud o_o;  
  
No one sue! Khan owns nothing! NOTHING!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Thanks a lot Steve. -_-*. Worst disclaimer  
  
ever.  
  
Anyway. I'm back into writing now. I've found  
  
one of the doors through the infinite labrynth that  
  
is Writer's Block, and thusly this story is moving  
  
along finally. You know how good it is to be writing  
  
again? Anyone here who's ever had a serious case of  
  
writer's block knows how I feel right about now ^_^  
  
Now then. As with all my Between the Lines fics, I'll  
  
finally explain a cutscene in the game my own way, and  
  
like the others I've never seen another fic do it the  
  
way this one's going to. Yay.  
  
It's also nice to get so much good feedback on a story.  
  
I hadn't counted reviews till a day or two ago, and  
  
reading'em helps inspire me t'write =)  
  
I dunno when this fic will finish. Maybe it never will  
  
and it will be 99+ chapters long and counting! Fwahahahah!  
  
...  
  
fat chance unless each chapter was one word long.  
  
...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-==(={[DarK ClouD}]=)==  
  
~(Between the Lines!)~  
  
[Part VIII; in which the adventure begins... again!]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(]Time: The Day after Dark Genie had been slain, the  
  
same day Xiao had been turned to a full feline[)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dimitri pulled out a glass-looking orb, which was  
  
currently wrapped up in black cloth, and handed it  
  
to Toan. "This device is a magical item I picked  
  
up here. It creates a containment field, the void  
  
inside of it pulling the air in to absorb and contain  
  
any matter nearby untill you deactivate it."  
  
  
  
Toan blinked. "Uh.. in english?"  
  
  
  
Dimitri laughed. "You think of a target. Hard. Then you  
  
concentrate on the orb, like you were in a dream, trying  
  
to open it with your mind, while never losing thought of  
  
whatever target you're trying to trap. It'll be like a black  
  
hole, sucking and shrinking your target into the orb. Not  
  
even the Fairy King could break out of this baby." said  
  
the dimension drifter with a smirk.  
  
  
  
"Ah, now I get it." Toan said, reaching to unwrap the  
  
orb.   
  
"No!" Dimitri yelled, causing Toan to stop. "I should have  
  
explained this earlier. When you unwrap it, it activates. And  
  
it can only hold one person, so make sure you're close to the  
  
Fairy King and no one's closer to you than him." explained  
  
Dimitri. "And if you miss, wrap it back up quickly to stop  
  
the vaccuum. It won't suck up the user, but you don't want  
  
to waste its power by taking the wrong target."  
  
  
  
{"He's like an energizer battery. He just keeps going,  
  
and going, and-"}  
  
  
  
  
  
Dimitri picked up Steve and glared at him. "Look you stupid  
  
slingshot, if you don't shut up I'm going to drop you into  
  
a box of termites."  
  
  
  
Super Steve gulped. {"Shutting up."}  
  
  
  
  
  
"Alright Toan, I'll leave it to you as to how you take  
  
care of this." Dimitri said. "Return to your home viliage  
  
first, though. I'll be waiting for the Fairy King's  
  
capture."  
  
  
  
Toan nodded, "Alright," and Dimitri turned around, a  
  
portal opening in front of him. The man in black turned  
  
to face Toan one last time. "Don't make me regret giving  
  
you that, Toan." he said, before stepping into the portal,  
  
both Dimitri and the hole vanishing into thin air.  
  
  
  
--------------------------  
  
  
  
((Time: Evening))  
  
  
  
  
  
Toan and Xiao reached top top of a hill, looking down on  
  
their home town. There was a campfire in the middle of the  
  
villiage, and a big celebration was going on; the Fairy King  
  
in the middle of it all, enjoying the peace before he worried  
  
about dealing with the other disturbances.  
  
  
  
"You ready to be half human again, Xiao?" Toan said, looking  
  
down at the cat with a ring around its paw. Xiao nodded  
  
excitedly, and the pair ran down the hill towards the town.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
They crept past Toan's house, trying to stay out of sight of  
  
everyone. If the Fairy King saw them, it could become very  
  
awkward very fast.  
  
  
  
They reached the thrid house down the same street, nearing  
  
where the celebration was being held. Toan peaked around a  
  
house, looking into the crowd, Xiao's furry little head   
  
mimicking his action down at his feet. "Sure are a lot of  
  
people here..." Toan said after a few seconds. "I didn't  
  
think so many people lived here.."  
  
  
  
Then he looked and saw the Fairy King talking to someone  
  
in the midst of the crowd. "There he is." Toan said,   
  
reaching into his pocket to reassure himself that the orb  
  
was still there. He looked down at Xiao. "You ready?"  
  
  
  
  
  
The feline nodded, and just as they were about to go, a  
  
rather annoying familiar voice was heard behind them.  
  
  
  
"Just where have you been, Toan?!" said a brunette girl,  
  
marching up to the pair. The green clad hero yelped in  
  
surprise and turned around to see his childhood friend  
  
Paige standing there. "You haven't visited in over a month,  
  
or even bothered to write - for all we know you could've   
  
been DEAD!" Paige shouted angrily, Toan holding a finger to  
  
his lips and shushing her all the while.  
  
  
  
"Don't you tell me to be quiet!" she yelled. "And why are  
  
you sneaking around like this?"  
  
  
  
"Paige, now is not a good time to talk about-" Toan started to  
  
say, but the girl interrupted him.  
  
"Now's never a good time to talk to you anymore! The nerve of  
  
you, having us worried sick and then being this rude when you  
  
come back! Why I have half a mind to..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Paige blinked as she noticed something was reflecting the  
  
firelight into her eyes. She looked down and saw the ring  
  
on Toan's ring finger, and her jaw dropped, before she  
  
glared at Toan.  
  
  
  
"So this is it? All this time we think you've been out  
  
in danger, trying to save the world, and here I find out  
  
you just ran off and got married to some-" In order to  
  
keep a PG rating, I must cut out what she said due to  
  
censorship purposes. "And where is she now? It looks to  
  
me like you came back alone. And.. AIIE! Get this thing  
  
off of me!" Paige screamed - Toan was quite glad there was  
  
loud music going on, or someone could have heard the girl.  
  
  
  
Xiao was cling to Paige's ankles, clawing and biting at her.  
  
"Why is your stupid cat attacking me?!" she yelped angrily,  
  
kicking around, trying to shake Xiao off her feet.  
  
  
  
Xiao finally tumbled off, rolling back to her paws and hissing  
  
at Paige. Toan frowned. "Look, Paige, will you just leave  
  
me alone!?" shouted Toan. "I don't have time to explain anything  
  
right now and the last thing I need is YOU yelling at me!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Paige took a step back at these words. At first, she seemed  
  
shocked, and a bit hurt, making Toan feel a bit bad. But then  
  
she scowled at him. "Fine, be that way." she said, lifting her  
  
chin and walking off.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Finally.." Toan said with a sigh of relief. Paige and him had  
  
been good friends when they were children, but the older they  
  
got, the more Paige got on his nerves. He looked back into  
  
the crowd once more. "... Crap, where'd he go?"  
  
  
  
Toan looked around for the Fairy King, but couldn't find him  
  
anywhere amidst the endless crowd of people. Xiao peeked around  
  
for him as well.   
  
"Looking for someone?" said an elderly voice behind Toan.   
  
{"What's with people sneaking up on us so much today?"} Steve  
  
said, though he was barely heard through Toan's backpack.  
  
  
  
Toan turned to face the Fairy King once more, and had to  
  
resist the urge to strike him down right now.   
  
"Actually, yeah, I came to apologize for the way I acted  
  
earlier." lied Toan, as Xiao hissed softly at the old man.  
  
  
  
"There's no need to apologize, Toan. Everyone's emotions  
  
get the better of them at some time or other." said the  
  
King.   
  
"Well, I still felt bad, so I wanted to give you this." Toan  
  
said with a grin, pulling something out of his pocket and  
  
unwrapped it. The Fairy King watched curiously, then as he  
  
saw the crystal surface he realized what it was.  
  
  
  
"No Toan! Don't unwrap it!" the Fairy King said, but it was  
  
too late. Toan held the orb out, and suddenly a vortex appeared,  
  
and the Fairy King was sucked into the orb, shrunken down  
  
to the size of an action figure in seconds before the   
  
orb stopped.  
  
  
  
{"I've heard of ships in a bottle, but this is ridiculous!"}  
  
Steve laughed from inside Toan's backpack.  
  
  
  
"Toan, listen, I'll tell you how to undo this and get me  
  
out of here-"  
  
  
  
"Why would I do that?" Toan said, looking down at the   
  
Fairy King, who looked worried right about now. "If I  
  
let you go, I know you wouldn't turn Xiao back into  
  
a half-human."   
  
  
  
"That's what all this is about?" asked F.K. "Toan,  
  
I thought you understood, if I did that then-"  
  
  
  
"Then what? What harm could possibly have come from  
  
leaving Xiao the way she was?" said Toan, still ticked  
  
off at the Fairy King, but his anger had died down   
  
considerably due to the fact Xiao would be back to  
  
her old humanish self again soon.  
  
  
  
"If there is but one disruptance, one thing to bring  
  
chaos to this world, it acts as a catalyst to allow  
  
for a horrible disaster to strike, the likes of which  
  
this world has never known!" Fairy King explained.   
  
  
  
Right as Toan was about to ask what kind of disaster  
  
could possibly be so bad, clapping could be heard, as  
  
well as slow footsteps as Dimitri walked up to them.  
  
"Splendid job, Toan." said Dimitri, putting on a pair  
  
of black gloves and picking up the orb with the imprisoned  
  
Fairy King, a cruel smirk crossing his lips.  
  
  
  
"No.. Toan, tell me you didn't!" the Fairy King said, turning  
  
to face Toan once more. "Tell me you didn't make a deal  
  
with this man!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Shut up old man." Dimitri said, as the orb began to glow,  
  
electricity surging inside of it, draining the Fairy King  
  
of all his power.   
  
  
  
  
  
The Fairy King collapsed inside the orb, which Dimitri dropped  
  
shortly afterwards as if it were nothing more than a dead  
  
battery. "And now, a hero's reward.." Dimitri said with a grin.  
  
"I'm a man of my word, after all..."  
  
  
  
He waved his hand at the feline at Toan's feet; Xiao was covered  
  
in a white aura, and in a flash of light she was back to her  
  
normal self.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Xiao's human again!" squealed the feline girl, clinging to Toan  
  
happily. Toan hugged Xiao close, kissing her lips passionately  
  
for a few seconds before turning to face Dimitri.  
  
  
  
"Thanks for everything, Dimitri." he said with a grin. The  
  
dimension drifter smirked.  
  
  
  
"No, it is I who should be thanking you." he said. "Thanks to  
  
you, I have the powers of the Fairy King - not too impressive,  
  
mind you, but he had one thing I desired. Immortality. He  
  
never aged, and now neither shall I."  
  
  
  
{"... wait, if the Fairy King never aged, why did he look  
  
so old?"} Steve asked. Dimitri laughed a bit.  
  
  
  
"The old fool gained his powers when he gained the trust of  
  
the Council." said Dimiri. "As well as his immortality. I,  
  
on the other hand, only needed to kill one measely guardian  
  
to acquire such things."   
  
  
  
"Kill?" Toan said. "I didn't think you wanted him dead!"  
  
Although he'd felt a strong urge to kill the Fairy King,  
  
he wouldn't have actually done it.   
  
  
  
"How else would you expect it to be done?" Dimitri said  
  
with a smirk. "As a thank you, I will leave this little  
  
town of yours be. The rest of this world, however, will  
  
be mine very soon."   
  
  
  
"You're the disaster the Fairy King was talking about,  
  
aren't you?" Toan said in realization. Xiao gulped and  
  
took to hiding behind Toan again, mainly untill she  
  
could fish around in his backpack to find super steve.  
  
  
  
"You could say that. But the old fool wouldn't have   
  
stopped my coming, even if he did stop all the things  
  
that kept this world in disorder." the conqueror said  
  
with a sinister laugh. "Now, listen close to me, boy.  
  
You've saved your own life by helping me, along with  
  
your little pet and this entire villiage. Be grateful  
  
of this, and stay out of my way."  
  
  
  
  
  
With these finishing words, Dimitri vanished into  
  
another portal. Toan just stood there and stared  
  
as the portal vanished, shocked at this turn of  
  
events. "Yay, Xiao found it!" the cat girl said  
  
with a grin as she pulled Super Steve out of  
  
Toan's backpack and gave it a little hug.   
  
  
  
Toan smiled a bit, glad to hear Xiao's voice  
  
again. "Xiao, how would you like to go on  
  
another adventure?" Toan asked.  
  
  
  
XIao's eyes lit up. "Oooh! Xiao loves going  
  
on adventures!" the cat girl said happily,  
  
clinging to Toan tight. Toan grinned. "Good,  
  
we're going to get the guys back together."  
  
  
  
Toan and Xiao began to walk towards the exit  
  
of the town once again. Toan felt kind of bad  
  
about getting ready to fight Dimitri. After all,  
  
if it wasn't for him, Xiao would still be a  
  
house cat. But he couldn't allow him to destroy  
  
the world as he knew it, and now that the Fairy  
  
King was dead, he wouldn't have to worry about  
  
losing Xiao anymore.  
  
  
  
-------------  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, back in town...  
  
  
  
  
  
Paige was going back to give Toan a piece of her  
  
mind once more for being so rude, and found an  
  
orb lying on the ground where she spoke to Toan  
  
earlier. "What's this...?" she said curiously,  
  
picking it up, before gasping as she noticed  
  
the familiar figure inside. "Fairy King?"  
  
  
  
The Fairy King slowly staggared up, coughing  
  
weakly. He wasn't dead, but he was on the  
  
verge of it. "Did Toan do this to you?"  
  
  
  
The Fairy King nodded slowly, too weak to speak  
  
at the moment. Paige scowled. "You've gone too  
  
far this time, Toan..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-------------------  
  
--To Be Continued--  
  
-------------------  
  
  
  
  
  
Next CHapter;  
  
Toan is going to try to band the old group back together  
  
again, but will any of them be willing to help now?  
  
And even if he succeeds in banding them together  
  
again, will they even stand a ghost of a chance against  
  
this treacherous villian, Dimitri?  
  
  
  
Find out whenever I think of what to write next!  
  
And to the reviewers, should I fire Steve the Talking  
  
Slingshot from the disclaimer position?  
  
  
  
{"Hey! Not fair!"}  
  
  
  
After all, he did a poor job of the disclaimer this  
  
time, and without disclaimers, these stories might  
  
be illegal!  
  
  
  
{"Why would you care, "Space Pirate" Khan?"}  
  
  
  
Will you just shut up!?  
  
Anyway.  
  
If ya like the story still, please review - cuz if you've  
  
ever read "Super Smash Bros; Live in it and Win a Mansion"  
  
you'll find reviews DO make a difference. =)  
  
  
  
{"*cough*shamelessplug*cough*"}  
  
  
  
Grr... Tune in next chapter, to see a NEW disclaimer speaker!  
  
  
  
{"Noooo! My career is ruined!"} 


End file.
